Does Anybody Know What Causes Alzheimer's?

Despite all the research being carried out as to what actually causes Alzheimer's disease, and how this devastating disease can be stopped, we still don't have a clear answer as to why Alzheimer disease actually develops. Clearly a lot more research is required before this question can be answered. Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia.

What we can say with a good degree of certainty is that we know that once this disease sets in, it can progress pretty quickly, and steps need to be taken, usually through the use of drugs, to try and slow down the rate that it affects the brain.

Let us look at some of the things that we do know:

Although we cannot say what causes Alzheimer's, we do know that the disease can start to affect our brain cells over a long period of time. The symptoms of Alzheimer begin to appear when these brain cells start to sustain damage, resulting in the death of those cells. Once the cells start to die, certain cognitive processes start to fail. These processes will include memory impairment, confusion, a failure in awareness, and a decline in image recognition.

When this stage is reached by a person who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, it can be extremely difficult, if not impossible to live a normal life, with any degree of independence. The sufferer can still have lucid moments, but these moments decrease over time.

This is often a very worrying and upsetting situation for the person in question. The situation is also very distressing for the people that surround the sufferer. It clearly is hard for someone to cope with the fact that the person that they have loved and known for a long time, fails to recognize them. This is further amplified because the causes of Alzheimer's are not known, and there seems to be no understanding why it has happened.

Another thing that most scientists agree on is that if there is a history of Alzheimer disease in a family, then the risk of developing the disease suddenly becomes greater, than if there was no history of Alzheimer's disease in the family. If you are in a position where family members have suffered from Alzheimer's disease, then it may be worthwhile to get yourself checked out, especially if you are over 60 years of age.

There is a strong possibility that genetics can play a role behind causes of Alzheimer's. Scientists know that there are 2 types of genes associated with the causes of Alzheimer's disease. The first is known as the Risk Gene, which obviously suggests that the risks of developing the disease is higher compared to people that don't have this gene. The second gene is called the deterministic gene, this particular gene more or less guarantees the onset of Alzheimer.

There are some other risk factors which may also contribute to Alzheimer. These factors include high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary artery disease, and high stress levels. If you have any of these problems, and are finding yourself becoming a little forgetful, then it is vital that you talk to your doctor about these suspicions. Remember that the sooner that you can get a diagnosis, the quicker you can get help with the condition.

As you can see there are many possibilities behind the disease, so you need to keep a careful watch on yourself, and on people around you, and be aware of the potential symptoms. There still remains a lot of research to be done before we can finally pinpoint what exactly causes Alzheimer's disease.