Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disease that slowly over time destroys memory and learning skills. In America it is currently estimated that 5.1 million individuals have the disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the number one cause of Dementia as well. Dementia is a loss of cognitive functioning. It is most common among older individuals. Alzheimer’s essentially leads to dementia, individuals start to get symptoms around the age of 60 and from then it is a slow decline until the individual cant even do simple tasks.
As sad as this disease is with 5.1 million Americans having the disease it makes you wonder why people get it and above all why there is no cure. I got the idea for this post because my grandfather has dementia from Alzheimer’s.
This got me thinking what really does cause Alzheimer’s? For this question there is no definitive answer. The only thing scientists can confirm is that it is caused by some combination of environmental, genetic, and lifestyle factors. The disease has been proven to be genetic but especially in those who get early on set Alzheimer’s. These are individuals who get the disease between the ages of 30 – 60. This is caused from a mutation in three specific genes passed down from a parent. Late onset Alzheimer’s occurs after the age of 60 and is also caused by a mutation in a gene passed down from a parent.
With lifestyle and environmental factors there are no definitive answers. There have not been enough studies to prove the correlation of memory loss with heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure and stroke. But, there is a proven direct correlation between staying active and prevention of brain deterioration.
In a recent study at the Cleveland clinic in Ohio, they gathered older individuals whose families had a history of Alzheimer’s they were all tested and determined whether they had the e4 gene of Alzheimer’s. They found that those elderly people who exercised regularly had more brain activity during cognitive tests than those individuals with the gene who didn’t exercise regularly.
In conclusion there is no definitive cause for Alzheimer’s, but there is a direct correlation between exercising and prevention of cognitive decline.
http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/alzheimers-disease-fact-sheet#causes
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/02/can-exercise-reduce-Alzheimer’s-risk/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0