What is Alzheimer's.

Who usually gets Alzheimer's? And at what age? And how rare is it?

According to the Alzheimer's Association's Facts and Figures report, an estimated 45% of American seniors 85 and older suffer from Alzheimer's, and 1 in 10 people aged 65 and over (10%) has Alzheimer's disease. It is the most common cause of dementia among older adults. Alzheimer's is also usually typically found in women rather than men.

What causes Alzheimer's?

Alzheimer's is caused by brain cell death. It is a neurodegenerative disease, which means there is progressive brain cell death that happens over time. Alzheimer's, the tissue has fewer and fewer nerve cells and connections. Autopsies have shown that the nerve tissue in the brain of a person with Alzheimer's has tiny deposits, known as plaques and tangles, that build upon the tissue. The plaques are found between the dying brain cells, and they are made from a protein known as beta-amyloid. The tangles occur within the nerve cells, and they are made from another protein, called tau

Alzheimer's killing.

Alzheimer's is the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S because of the increase in population on older people.

The Loss of Neuronal Connections and Cell Death

In Alzheimer's disease, as neurons are injured and die throughout the brain, connections between networks of neurons may break down, and many brain regions begin to shrink. By the final stages of Alzheimer's, this process—called brain atrophy—is widespread, causing significant loss of brain volume.

Many people may have Alzheimer's, but do not know it

In part because of the difficulty with detecting early-stage Alzheimer's or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), many of those with the disease remain undiagnosed.

Does Alzheimer's carry on in family genes?

Most cases of Alzheimer's disease are sporadic, meaning they occur in individuals with no family history of the disease.

What are neurofibrillary tangles?

Neurofibrillary tangles are difficult twisted fibers found inside the brain's nerve cells. They primarily consist of a protein called tau, which forms part of a structure called a microtubule. The microtubule helps transport nutrients and other important substances from one part of the nerve cell to another. In Alzheimer's disease, the tau protein is abnormal and the microtubule structures collapse.

Amyloid plaques

One of the signs of Alzheimer's disease is the buildup of amyloid plaques between nerve cells in the brain. Amyloid is a general term for protein fragments that the body produces normally. Beta-amyloid is a fragment of a protein snipped from another protein called amyloid precursor protein. In a healthy brain, these protein fragments would break down and be eliminated. In Alzheimer's disease, the fragments grow to form hard, insoluble plaques.

What is Chronic Inflammation

Research suggests that chronic inflammation may be caused by the buildup of glial cells normally meant to help keep the brain free of debris. One type of glial cell, microglia, engulfs and destroys waste and toxins in a healthy brain. In Alzheimer's, microglia fail to clear away waste, debris, and protein collections, including beta-amyloid plaques.

Alzheimer's isn't the only way that people can lose memories?

The brain is mostly made up of cells called neurons, which communicate with each other through electrical and chemical signals. Memory loss can result from head injuries and diseases that kill neurons or prevent them from communicating.

Alzheimer's will increase in the following years.

The rate at which Alzheimer's occurs — every 65 seconds in the U.S. — is projected to double by 2050 because of the growing population of people over age 65. The number of people who live into their 80s and 90s is also expected to grow, and the likelihood of Alzheimer's increases with more advanced age.

Is there a cure for Alzheimer's?

There is no known cure for Alzheimer's. The death of brain cells cannot be reversed. Although, there are therapeutic interventions that can make it easier for people to live with the disease. Things like activities and day-care programs involvement of support groups and services.