Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease

Causes disease Alzheimer’s are the factors and conditions that cause senile dementia of the Alzheimer’s type or AD. This is a type of dementia in which a person gradually loses memory and personality traits, degrading to absolute helplessness. According to statistics, every 70 seconds one person in the world falls ill with it. Knowledge of the causes of pathology would reduce the percentage of cases or even prevent dementia. But the debate about what causes AD is still ongoing.

Heredity

The beginning of a detailed study of the disease was put by psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer. Watching his ward with dementia, he described the pathology and tried to find the cause of this phenomenon. Today we are still searching. Several hypotheses have been put forward, one of which is heredity. Intravital and post-mortem studies of patients have shown the relationship between gene mutation and the risk of disease.

Scientists have suspected a link between AD and Down syndrome. People with the syndrome get sick disease Alzheimer’s much more often and earlier than others. In general, asthma is a problem of the older age group – it most often occurs in people 40-65 years old. But with Down syndrome, the disease strikes at the age of 30 years. The researchers suspected that the cause may lie in the “breakage” of chromosome 21. And they found confirmation of this. But in addition to chromosome 21, it was found that the disease occurs when there is also a mutation of 1, 14 and 19 chromosomes.

Gene mutations can be inherited. The guesses were backed up by observations of the statistics. Approximately 10% of patients have a family history of an ancestor with asthma. Today it is believed that in a family where one parent is sick, the risk of getting sick in a child is 50%. If both are sick, it is almost a 100% chance that the heir will have dementia.

But “breakdown” of genes means only a predisposition to disease. So there must be other factors that increase this risk. In addition, hereditary dementia accounts for only 10% of all patients. Finding out what happens to the other 90% is the main task of psychiatry, neurology and medicine in general.

Psychological reasons

A German group of scientists has established a link between Alzheimer’s disease and psychotrauma. Studies have shown that patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and AD patients have reduced levels of FMN2. It is a protein that helps cells maintain their structure and function. As a result of traumatic situations (PTSD) the amount of FMN2 is reduced, which causes cognitive impairment.

A group of specialists from Göttingen carried out laboratory studies on this theory. In mice with reduced FMN2, PTSD and Alzheimer’s symptoms did increase with age. These observations revealed another factor that increases the risk of dementia. Also, tests of some drugs have shown their effectiveness in improving memory in older animals. But the theory of psychological trauma is only one of the factors, and by no means the root cause of the disease.

Dementia of the elderly is also considered by psychosomatics. Theories in this area are not taken seriously by most scientists. But since there is no single reason, it makes sense to study all possible aspects. Psychosomatics believes that dementia is an attempt to escape from the world. With the progress of dementia, a person does not really take part in life, cannot be responsible for himself or his actions. From this point of view, progressive dementia is the result of great responsibility or unjustified expectations. It is believed that people who criticize themselves and the environment are more susceptible to AD.

One of the authors on the topic of psychosomatic theory – Liz Burbo – put forward her assumption about the cause of the disease. Liz is a philosopher and psychologist. She believes that dementia is an attempt to manipulate others and free yourself from any responsibility. The hypothesis may seem true if you look at the patients. They are often irritable, whiny, unable to do something themselves. But this is more likely the result of disturbances in the brain, and not their cause.

Burbo wrote a book on the psychosomatics of Alzheimer’s. It states that BA appears in those who were very active in their youth, trying to remember everything. Such intellectual activity, together with unjustified hopes, causes dementia. So says Liz and her followers. If you examine the rest of the hypotheses, Bourbo’s theory looks like the guesswork of an amateur.

Studies show that an active brain stays healthy longer, and non-intellectual workers are more at risk of AD.

But it has also been proven that severe psychological shocks, depression and frequent neurosis lead to a loss of connections between neurons. Because of this, logical thinking and a sense of reality are reduced.

Hypotheses

The study of the causes of dementia starts at the molecular level. This gives hope to establish a “reference point”, the root cause of the disease. So far, scientists have concluded that AD is a multifactorial disease. In one case, it can be caused for one reason, in another – for another. The main hypotheses for Alzheimer’s disease are the amyloid, tau and cholinergic hypotheses.

Cholinergic

All patients with BA have a reduced level of acetylcholine. It is a neurotransmitter, a microscopic structure that sends electrical impulses between cells in the brain. With a deficiency of acetylcholine, nerve cells cannot exchange impulses with each other and neighboring tissues. Because of this, motor function, vision, memory, abstract and logical thinking are impaired.

Having discovered this pattern, scientists have created a number of drugs that maintain the desired level of acetylcholine. Symptoms in patients with such therapy become less pronounced, but this does not stop the disease. So, there are other causes of the disease.

Amyloid

This hypothesis is considered the main among other assumptions. Even Alois Alzheimer, during the autopsy of his ward with AD, discovered protein deposits in the brain. The study of this phenomenon showed that there are two types of protein that is deposited in brain tissues: amyloid and tau protein. Amyloid is a complex of proteins and polysaccharides, it is involved in metabolism at the cellular level. Normally, this substance is divided into smaller parts and consumed by the body.

With impaired metabolism, amyloid fragments that are too long appear, which do not dissolve and are deposited in the hippocampus and other parts of the brain.

Such accumulations are called plaques. Due to the formation of protein plaques, calcium also accumulates in the brain tissues. This breaks the connection between neurons, and cells unable to communicate die. Attempts to remedy this situation have so far failed. Even diagnosing plaque accumulation is impossible without an autopsy.

Tau hypothesis

Another type of protein that is deposited in the brain is tau. In a healthy body, it plays an important role as a membrane for living cells. The tau protein is also insoluble, otherwise it would not be able to perform its barrier function. In patients, this component is collected in “balls”, preventing cells from exchanging momentum. The result is the same – the death of neurons and the loss of synapses. What exactly leads to a violation in protein metabolism remains unknown.

Risk Factors

Trying to find the root cause in the etiology of the disease, scientists were able to compile a list of factors that increase the risk of AD. Conventionally, they are divided into correctable, non-correctable and conditionally correctable.

Uncorrected

This group of factors includes those circumstances that threaten dementia, but it is impossible to correct them. Among them:

1. Advanced age. Young people, children and adolescents do not get dementia. More often BA occurs after 65 years of age, rarely before this age. And up to 40 years – almost never. With age, the flexibility of the psyche and the brain as a whole decreases. Therefore, people with a predisposition and aged 60 years or more have a very high risk of the disease.
2. Female. Men experience this type of dementia 2-3 times less often than women. This is attributed to the fact that women live longer and more often come to the attention of doctors. Men are more likely to hide the disease.
3. Traumatic brain injury. Any head injury can cause dementia in old age. But if a person has had such cases, this does not mean that he will necessarily face memory loss.
4. Deep psychological shock. As we have already found out, mental trauma can also change the structure of the brain. The age of the psychotrauma does not matter.

This also includes low intellectual activity throughout life. The presence of education and the work of the intellect in youth are also important. To prolong the “youth” of the brain, it is important to train it: learn poetry, learn new technologies, crossword puzzles, hobbies. Reading is not included in the method of prevention.

Conditionally correctable

In this group – those aspects that can be corrected. Basically, there are diseases that cause oxygen starvation of cells. These include:

• increased levels of fats in the blood;
• diseases of the respiratory system;
• diabetes;
• cardiovascular diseases;
• high blood pressure.

These pathologies create “favorable” conditions for dementia. Their treatment will prevent risk factors.

Correctable

There are factors that we can control on our own. Often we pay attention to them only when the disease is already showing the first signs.

To prolong mental clarity, intellectual and physical activity is recommended. It is necessary to deal with the spiritual component and the body from youth, but by the age of 40 it is especially necessary. Mind and muscle training saturate with oxygen, improve blood circulation, create new neural connections.

Obesity is also a risk factor. It harms all human organs and systems. With excess weight, the heart works worse, blood vessels clog, and the respiratory system works harder. The accumulation of fats in the blood directly threatens to block neurons. An association with high blood sugar and AD has also been found. Those who eat less sweets keep their brains working longer.

Bad habits, such as smoking, increase the “chance” of senile dementia. Especially quickly dementia occurs in those addicted to alcohol and hard drugs. Substances that cloud the mind do this by blocking the capillaries and blood vessels. The result is oxygen starvation and a gradual loss of neural connections. You can prolong physical and intellectual youth through an interesting and active life.

It is important to constantly feed your interest and thirst for knowledge, learn languages ​​and know-how. Technology is particularly good at stimulating the transmission of signals between nerve cells. It is useful to study the work of phones, applications, programs. Add quality nutrition and exercise to this and the risk of dementia will decrease even for those who are predisposed to it.

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