Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease and Risk Factors

  • Alzheimers
    Alzheimer's disease is a neurological disorder (disorder of the nervous system) in which the death of brain cells causes memory loss and cognitive decline. 
Submitted by PatientsEngage on 11 September 2015

What causes Alzheimer’s disease?

  • Scientists believe that for most people, Alzheimer's disease results from a combination of genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors that affect the brain over time.
     
  • Although the causes of Alzheimer's are not yet fully understood, its effect on the brain is clear. Alzheimer's disease damages and kills brain cells.
     
  • As more and more brain cells die, Alzheimer's leads to significant brain shrinkage. 

What are the risk factors for developing Alzheimer’s disease?

  • Age 
  • Family history
  • Genetic - Having a certain gene (the apolipoprotein E or APOE gene)
  • Risk factors for vascular disease - including diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure
  • Low educational and occupational attainment
  • Prior head injury
  • Sleep disorders
Changed
18/Dec/2015
Community
Alzheimer's and Dementia
Condition
Alzheimers

Stories

  • Alzheimer's patients can still feel emotion long after memories have vanished
    A new University of Iowa study further supports an inescapable message: caregivers have a profound influence -- good or bad -- on the emotional state of individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Patients may not remember a recent visit by a loved one or having been neglected by staff at a nursing home, but those actions can have a lasting impact on how they feel. The findings of this study are published in the September 2014 issue of the journal Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology. "Our findings…
  • "Our first clue that something was wrong was in 2012, when she started saying the same thing again and again"
    It may not seem like much, but for Maya, the daily battle over the bath is a sign of further deterioration as her 69-year-old mother slips deeper into her dementia, her personality changing, her memories fading, and simple everyday tasks becoming insurmountable hurdles.  http://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/wellness/world-alzheimer-s-day-lack-of-help-care-in-india-for-patients/article1-1266659.aspx
  • Vitamin D deficiency increases risk of Dementia
    In a population-based study of its kind, a team of researchers has found a link between vitamin D consumption and the risk of developing dementia. Older people who do not get enough vitamin D could double their risk of developing the condition. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/280704.php
  • Powerful Self-Portraits Reveal Artist's Descent Into Alzheimer's Disease
    Utermohlen's self-portraits provide a stark look at the devastating effects of Alzheimer's. As the artist struggled to keep in touch with the world around him, his works became flatter, more abstract, with a new loss of details and spatial sense. By 2000, Utermohlen's memory and technical skills had deteriorated to the point where his heartbreaking portrayal of himself was simply a scribbled skull and the barest shadows of facial features. http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/william-…