Running head: Alzheimer Disease
Alzheimer Disease: Cause, Risk Factors, and Stages
Fabiola Martinez
Maple Woods Community College
Alzheimer’s disease: Causes, Risk, Factors, and Stages
In today’s world Alzheimer’s disease is causing a big impact in the older population. Being the principal cause of dementia, Alzheimer cuts the life of people who suffer from this disease. Because it causes problems with ones memory, thinking, and behavior, it affects people's daily life and social abilities. Furthermore, there is no cure for Alzheimer disease, but scientists have made progress that helps to improve the life of those who are suffering from it. A good combination of medication and care may improve the quality of life of the patients. “Alzheimer’s disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German neurologist” (Mayo clinic staff, 2007, p.3). Alzheimer’s damages the brain tissue progressively, that impairment is fatal and leads to death. “About four millions older Americans have Alzheimer’s, a disease that usually develops in people age sixty five or older. This number is expected to triple by the year 2050 as the population ages.” (Mayo clinic, 2007)
Causes and Risk Factors
Even though about four million people suffer from Alzheimer’s today, there is not a clear explanation of what causes Alzheimer’s. However, what the researchers know is that it involves the failure of nerve cells; damaging and killing brain cells.
In autopsies of people who had died from Alzheimer’s Drs. have found a big quantity of plaques and tangles; plaques build up between nerve cells and tangles inside nerve cells. “Plaques are deposits of a protein fragment called beta-amyloid and Tangles are fibers of another protein called tau.” (Alzheimer’s Association, 2008, p.11);
Once it was believed that continuous exposure to metal, such as aluminum, was one of the causes of Alzheimer, but after years of studies, researchers have
not found enough...