It's not brain surgery...

Over Christmas break, I was helping my grandfather transfer pictures from his camera to his new computer and make new folders for them. Then he wanted to know how to email those pictures to the family. He is 80 something years old and one of the smartest people I know. He remembers everything he reads, can speak many languages, yet computer technology is like another universe for him. He would ask me the same questions over and over. After we were done he told me he was having problems with short term memory. Then I thought... uh oh!

Well it turns out he is in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. The big mystery is what causes the disease. As it is ranked in the top 10 leading causes of death which makes the search for the cause a major concern. There is a number of factors that are suggested to play a role in it form genetics to lifestyle choices. 

The disease involves the part of the brain dealing with memory, language, and thought. It is a form of dementia where the disease starts out mild and symptoms worsen with time. Although it is hard to tell what causes the disease, scientists have an overall understanding of what is going on to cause the memory loss. With the disease, the normal communication between nerve cells in the brain is impaired. Nerve cells started to die which results in the brain shrinking overtime. The brain of those with Alzheimer’s disease also has an abnormal number of plaques, or clusters of protein fragments that group together, blocking nerve cell communication. Tangles, which are collapsed and twisted proteins inside a cell, are also found to lead to death of nerve cells. (Source)

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It seems as if everyone knows someone who has been affected by Alzheimer's disease these days. While it may seem like rates of this disease are increasing in the population, it may also be due to better diagnosis of the disease. The disease most often begins in individuals over the age of 60 and the rate of risk increases with age. (Source)  

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