The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s currently has no cure. This disease was named for German physician, Alois Alzheimer, who first described the disease in 1906. This brain disorder is becoming more common rapidly.

Alzheimer’s destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life. This disease isn’t just about losing your memory, however. It’s a progressive and fatal disease.

It is especially sobering to learn that Alzheimer’s disease has surpassed diabetes to become the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States.

Even more chilling facts about Alzheimer’s:

• As many as 5.2 million people in the United States are already living with Alzheimer’s.
• In their lifetime, 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s.
• Every 71 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s.
• The direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer’s and other dementias to Medicare, Medicaid and businesses amount to more than $148 billion each year.

The fact that people are getting diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at much earlier ages now if perhaps most surprising. Last year over 500,000 people under 65 years of age were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Even more shocking, some of those were in their 20’s and 30’s.

Explaining The Facts About Alzheimer’s Disease

While it’s natural for our brains to age as we get older, just as the rest of our body does, the brain of someone with Alzheimer’s shows far greater changes than usual.

To start with, consider that the brain has 100 billion neurons (nerve cells). The nerve cells communicate with each other to form networks. In turn, each of these networks have special jobs. Some are for thinking, others for learning and remembering. Some of the networks control our muscle movement. Still others help us to smell, see and hear.

In the sense that each nerve cell network needs to take in supplies, generate energy and make something, they operate like a little factory. Each network also needs to process and store information, plus get rid of waste from all the work it’s done.

For some reason, in people with Alzheimer’s the nerve networks cell factories quit working correctly. After one part of the system breaks down. soon it ripples out to other parts of the system and they have problems as well. Eventually, the cells can no longer do their job and die.

Though scientists don’t yet completely understand the process, they have two prime suspects for this sabotage.

1. Plaques build up between nerve cells. Plaques have deposits of a protein fragment called beta-amyloid (BAY-tuh AM-uh-loyd).
2. Tangles are twisted fibers formed from another protein called tau (rhymes with “now”). The tangles form within cells that are dying.

Most people develop some plaques and tangles as they age, but those with Alzheimer’s tend to develop far more than usual. Tending to form in predictable patterns, the tangles and plaques start in area important to learning and memory, then spread to other regions.  These plaques and tangles are believed to somehow block communication among nerve cells and disrupt activities that cells need to survive.

Indicator’s Of Alzheimer’s Disease

A list of warning signs for Alzheimer’s Disease has been developed by The Alzheimer’s Association. They include the following:

1. Memory loss.
2. Difficulty performing familiar tasks.
3. Having problems with language.
4. Time and place disorientation.
5. Poor or decreased judgment.
6. Trouble with abstract thinking.
7. Misplacing things.
8. Changes in mood or behavior.
9. Personality changes.
10. Loss of initiative.

For a more complete explanation of the warning signs, visit The Alzheimer’s Association’s website.

Take good care of your health and keep up with the latest health news, learn about Alzheimer’s and how it affects people and what to signs to look for. Keeping in mind that younger people are now getting this disease, it’s never too early to learn about Alzheimer’s!

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