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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffNo one factor appears to cause Alzheimer's disease. Instead, scientists believe that it may take a combination of genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors to trigger the onset of symptoms. While the causes of Alzheimer's are poorly understood, its effect on brain tissue is clear. Alzheimer's disease damages and kills brain cells.
Two types of brain cell (neuron) damage are common in people who have Alzheimer's:
- Plaques. Clumps of a normally harmless protein called beta-amyloid may interfere with communication between brain cells. Although the ultimate cause of neuron death in Alzheimer's isn't known, mounting evidence suggests that the abnormal processing of beta-amyloid protein may be the culprit.
- Tangles. The internal support structure for brain cells depends on the normal functioning of a protein called tau. In people with Alzheimer's, threads of tau protein undergo alterations that cause them to become twisted. Many researchers believe this may seriously damage neurons, causing them to die.
References
- Alzheimer's disease fact sheet. National Institute on Aging. http://www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers/Publications/adfact.htm. Accessed Oct. 31, 2008.
- Shadlen MF, et al. Evaluation of cognitive impairment and dementia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 3, 2008.
- Caselli RJ, et al. The degenerative dementias: Alzheimer's disease. In: Goetz CG, et al. Textbook of Clinical Neurology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/109112945-3/0/1488/287.html. Accessed Nov. 3, 2008.
- Alzheimer's information: Causes. National Institute on Aging. http://www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers/AlzheimersInformation/Causes/. Accessed Nov. 6, 2008.
- Shadlen MF, et al. Dementia syndromes. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 6, 2008.
- Basics of Alzheimer's disease: What it is and what you can do. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/national/documents/brochure_basicsofalz_low.pdf. Accessed Nov. 6, 2008.
- Alzheimer's disease genetics fact sheet. National Institute on Aging. http://www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers/Publications/geneticsfs.htm. Accessed Nov. 6, 2008.
- Shadlen MF, et al. Risk factors for dementia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 6, 2008.
- Kelley BJ, et al. Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment. Neurological Clinics. 2007;25:577.
- Late-stage care. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/national/documents/brochure_latestage.pdf. Accessed Nov. 7, 2008.
- Dementia care practice recommendations for assisted living residences and nursing homes. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/national/documents/brochure_DCPRphases1n2.pdf. Accessed Nov. 7, 2008.
- Neurological diagnostic tests and procedures. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/misc/diagnostic_tests.htm. Accessed Nov. 7, 2008.
- Press D, et al. Cholinesterase inhibitors in the treatment of dementia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 7, 2008.
- Press D, et al. Treatment of dementia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 7, 2008.
- Press D, et al. Prevention of dementia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 7, 2008.
- Natural medicines in the clinical management of Alzheimer's disease. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Nov. 10, 2008.
- Alexander M, et al. Patient information: Alzheimer's disease. http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~eWpcYl7lC9LRwe. Accessed Nov. 10, 2008.
- Press D, et al. Future directions in dementia treatments. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 7, 2008.
- Smith GE (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Nov. 19, 2008.
- DeKosky ST, et al. Ginkgo biloba for prevention of dementia: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2008;19:2253.
