Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common type of dementia, accounting for 60 to 80 percent of all dementia cases. In patients suffering from this disease, the brain shows an accumulation of the beta-amyloid protein or plaque, resulting in cell degeneration and atrophy, and affecting communication between brain cells. This is due to a deficiency in the neurotransmitter that directly affects memory, known as acetylcholine.
The accumulation of beta-amyloid begins in the part of the brain known as the hippocampus. This part of the brain plays a crucial part in the conversion of short-term memories into long-term memories (which is necessary for the learning of new information), a process known as “consolidation”. Although the hippocampus is not the part of the brain that stores information, if this part of the brain atrophies or damages, patients begin to have issues with memory, particularly short-term memory. For example, a patient may completely forget and be unable to recall what they did or said to someone just 10 or 15 minutes earlier. From there, damage can spread to other regions of the brain and affect learning, feelings and emotions, language, and behavior, resulting in an inability to care for oneself and, finally, becoming a burden on one’s family.
Alzheimer’s is also one of the diseases caused by genetic mutation, supported by a variety of factors (complex disorders or multifactorial inheritance) including increased age, genetic disorders, existing chronic diseases such as dyslipidemia, diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic depression or chronic stress disorders, certain conditions of the body, or risky behaviors such as injury to the head or brain, smoking, or brain infection.
Currently, it is possible to carry out tests and detect gene mutations linked to Alzheimer’s, such as Apo E , APP, PSEN1 and PSEN2, as these are groups of genes found in patients with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease. Genetic testing for this type of risk can be considered as another way to help us be cautious and careful in the way we live our lives. If the results of the examination tell us that we are at risk, this means that due to our family history, we are more likely to develop the disease than others, and thus we can take steps to modify certain lifestyle behaviors that could help slow the progression of the disease before we reach old age (Early Risk Assessment Quiz for Alzheimer’s)
