Where Alzheimer’s starts and how it spreads?

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive form of dementia that ultimately causes brain cells to die and the brain itself to shrink. The disease accounts for most reported cases of dementia and is most frequently diagnosed in people 65 and older. Memory, reasoning, thinking, judgment, personality, and behavior are affected by the disease.

Some common symptoms are:

• Forgetting appointments, events, or conversations
• Misplacing items and being unable to retrace steps to find them
• Getting lost in familiar places
• Repeating statements and questions
• Having trouble finding the correct words for common objects
• Inability to multitask
• Trouble managing finances
• Uncharacteristic behaviors and choices
• Losing the ability to keep up with routine tasks
• Depression, mood swings
• Distrust, irritability
• Aggressiveness
• Disturbed sleep
• Loss of inhibitions
• Delusions

Scientists aren’t entirely sure exactly where Alzheimer’s starts or what causes it, but it is understood that proteins in the brain begin to function abnormally, disrupting their work. This is thought to cause damage to neurons, causing them to lose the ability to communicate with one another. This leads to cell death.

Cells within the brain communicate with one another to enable us to perform tasks like encoding memory, thinking, making decisions, and more. The proteins that malfunction are called plaques and tangles. Plaques are fragments that cluster and disrupt the communication between cells, resulting in their death. Tangles are clumps of once-helpful proteins that organize into tangles that disrupt the ability of essential nutrients to be delivered to cells.

These damages usually start in the part of the brain involved in memory, often taking years to develop undetected because symptoms don’t develop immediately. The disease spreads to other regions of the brain and causes it to atrophy or shrink over time.

Alzheimer’s is thought to be caused by lifestyle and environmental factors and genetics, although what role genetics plays is still under investigation. Treatments are limited to medications and lifestyle changes that target symptoms. At present, no cure or treatment slows the progression of the disease.

If you are experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer’s, talk with your doctor. If someone you love is experiencing symptoms, talk with them and with their doctor about your concerns. For those with loved ones who live with Alzheimer’s to obtain support as caregiver responsibilities increase as the disease progresses. For information and support for Alzheimer’s, contact the Alzheimer’s Association Helpline at 1-800-272-3900.