Alzheimer Disease - Biology Of Alzheimer Disease, Diagnoses And Treatment Of Alzheimer Disease, Current Research
brain clumps noticed dementia
Alzheimer disease is the most common form of the brain disorder called dementia. People with dementia experience difficulty in carrying out daily activities because of damage to the regions of their brains that control thought, language, and memory. While many older people have Alzheimer disease, it is not a normal part of aging. Currently, there is no cure.
The disease is named after the German physician Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Alzheimer noticed changes over time in samples of brain tissue of a woman who died of mental illness. Specifically, Alzheimer noticed the development of clumps and tangled bundles of fibers in the brain. The clumps are now known as amyloid plaques, and the tangled regions are called neurofibrillary tangles. Both are hallmarks of Alzheimer disease.
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Other changes occur in the brain of a patient with the disease. For example, there is a loss of nerve cells in the brain, especially in the area of the brain associated with memory. In addition, there is a loss of the chemical neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. This chemical aids in the transmission of signals from one nerve to another in the brain. The loss of acetylcholine means that brain s…
Diagnosis of the disease often results from an awareness of a change in behavior or memory by an individual or his/her physician. A definitive diagnosis requires the observation of plaques and tangled fibers in samples of brain tissue. However, such a tissue examination is possible only after death. So, in practical terms, only a "possible" or "probable" diagnosis of Al…
Research into the cause of Alzheimer disease focuses on the nature of the basic biology of the disease and the development of drugs that will counteract or prevent the deterioration associated with the disease. These quests are difficult, as the cause of Alzheimer disease at the molecular level is still unknown. Similarly, the formation of amyloid plaques and why the connections between brain cell…
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