Alzheimer's
Disease
A Comprehensive Tutorial to Alzheimer's Disease
Causes and Risk Factors
Scientists do not yet fully understand what causes Alzheimer's disease. There probably is not one single cause, but several factors that affect each person differently. Age is the most important known risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. The number of people with the disease doubles every 5 years beyond age 65.
Family history is another risk factor. Scientists believe that genetics may play a role in many Alzheimer's disease cases. For example, familial Alzheimer's disease, a rare form of Alzheimer's disease that occurs between the ages of 30 and 60, can be inherited. However, in the more common form of Alzheimer's disease, which occurs later in life, no obvious family pattern is seen. One risk factor for this type of Alzheimer's disease is a protein called apolipoprotein E, or apoE.
Everyone has apoE, which helps carry cholesterol in the blood. The apoE gene has three forms. One form seems to protect a person from Alzheimer's disease, and another form seems to make a person more likely to develop the disease. Other genes that increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease or that protect against Alzheimer's disease probably remain to be discovered.
Scientists still need to learn a lot more about causes and risk factors. In addition to genetics and apoE, they are studying education, diet, environment, and viruses to learn what role they might play in the development of this disease.
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Quiz
1. Scientists
A. will never know what causes Alzheimer's.
B. can pinpoint the exact cause of Alzheimer's.
C. do not know for sure what causes Alzheimer's.
C is the correct answer. Scientists do not yet fully understand what causes Alzheimer's disease. However, it is clear that Alzheimer's disease develops as a result of a complex series of events that take place inside the brain over time which causes nerve cells in the brain to die. Ongoing research yields more valuable information each year about the causes of this disease.
2. The most important known risk factor for Alzheimer's disease is
A. age.
B. depression.
C. family history of the disease.
A is the correct answer. Age is the most important known risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. The disease usually begins after 60 and the risk goes up with age.
3. Alzheimer's disease occurs most frequently among people
A. 85 and older.
B. 65 to 75 years of age.
C. 60 to 65 years of age.
A is the correct answer. About 3 percent of men and women ages 65 to 74 have the disease, but nearly half of those age 85 and older may have the disease. The average age at diagnosis is about 80.
4. Another risk factor for Alzheimer's disease is
A. depression.
B. being overweight.
C. family history of the disease.
C is the correct answer. Family history is another risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Scientists believe that genetics may play a role in many Alzheimer's disease causes. For example, familial Alzheimer's disease, a rare form of the disease that occurs between the ages of 30 and 60, can be inherited. However, in the more common form of Alzheimer's disease, which occurs later in life, no obvious family pattern is seen. There is no evidence that either depression or being overweight are risk factors for Alzheimer's.
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