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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2018 20:43:26 GMT
Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia.
In the brain of someone with Alzheimer's disease, there are two different proteins called amyloid and tau.
Deposits of amyloid, called plaques, build up around brain cells. Deposits of tau form "tangles" within brain cells.
Researchers don't yet fully understand how amyloid and tau are involved in the loss of brain cells, but this is an area of active research.
As brain cells become affected in Alzheimer's, there's also a decrease in chemical messengers (called neurotransmitters) involved in sending messages, or signals, between brain cells.
Levels of one neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, are particularly low in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.
Medicines like donepezil increase levels of acetylcholine, and improve brain function and symptoms.
These treatments aren't a cure for Alzheimer's disease, but they do help improve symptoms.
Read more about treatments for dementia.
The symptoms that people develop depend on the areas of the brain that have been damaged by the disease.
The hippocampus is often affected early on in Alzheimer's disease. This area of the brain is responsible for laying down new memories. That's why memory problems are one of the earliest symptoms in Alzheimer's.
Unusual forms of Alzheimer's disease can start with problems with vision or with language.
Read more about Alzheimer's disease.
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