Alzheimer's Disease

Currently ranked as the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, Alzheimer’s disease

is a brain disorder that slowly destroys thinking skills and memory, and eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. It is the common cause of dementia, accounting for up to 80% of dementia cases.

The greatest risk factor for Alzheimer's is one that is entirely inevitable: increasing age. The majority of

cases affect those 65 and older; however, it is possible for younger ages to develop this

neurodegenerative disorder, and this is known as Alzheimer’s-onset. Alzheimer’s is a progressive

disease that worsens the affected person’s memory over time, due to the dying of nerve cells in the

brain. In the early years, memory-loss is mild, but as it worsens, people with Alzheimer’s generally lose

the ability to respond to their environment at all. On average, people tend to live 4 to 8 years following

the original diagnosis, but can live as long as 20 years after.

The earliest symptoms of Alzheimer’s can be as simple as forgetting newly learned information.

However, this does not mean anyone who forgets something they just learned may have Alzheimer’s,

especially as this is a very vague symptom. Just as with everyone, brains change along with aging. Most

people notice that remembering certain details may become more difficult. However, the alarming

changes that may be indicative of possible Alzheimer’s include serious memory loss or confusion, as

they could be signs of brain cells failing. Significant changes of those with Alzheimer’s begin in the

section of the brain that deals with learning new information. As it advances through the brain, it leads to increasingly severe symptoms, such as disorientation, mood and behavior changes, deepening

confusions about time, date, or place, unfounded suspicions about family, etc.

Although there are no cures presently available for Alzheimer’s, there are treatments to decrease

the malignant effect of the disorder. Aducanumab is the only disease-modifying medicine that is approved to treat Alzheimer’s. This medication is a human antibody/immunotherapy that targets beta-

amyloid proteins and helps replace amyloid plaques, brain lesions associated with Alzheimer’s. Before prescription, doctors could require PET scans or an analysis of cerebrospinal fluid to confirm the

presence of amyloid plaques. After prescription, doctors may require regular MRIs to monitor for brain

swelling, brain bleeding, or other side effects. Several other medications and treatments are currently

being tested in people with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s as potential treatments.