Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease
“Dementia is a general term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving, and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia.”
There are over 400 types of dementia. Alzheimer's Disease accounts for 60 - 80% of the cases of dementia.
Vascular dementia is the next leading cause of dementia. Vascular dementia is caused by damaged blood vessels resulting in decreased blood flow to the brain.
There are many questions around how to diagnose Alzheimer's Disease, and as with other types of dementia, there isn't one specific test.
Usually, a careful medical history is taken to determine if someone has Alzheimer's or another type of dementia. A physical with laboratory tests are done to rule out other causes, such as vitamin deficiency or thyroid problems. Often, a diagnosis is made of Alzheimer's Disease after medical conditions are ruled out that can be treated.
Further assessment can be done. A neurologist, psychiatrist or geriatrician may determine the type of dementia.
In Alzheimer’s, the disease has started years and decades before the first symptoms appear.
It’s been determined that four processes are strongly linked to the development of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Inflammation
Inflammation is a natural process in the body to fight the invasion of bacteria, for example. If you’ve ever had a hangnail or a paper cut, you’ve probably experienced that redness, slight swelling and tenderness in the area. That is acute inflammation. It’s your body protecting itself by increasing blood flow to the site and bringing cells that “kill” bacteria to the area. Think of them as little soldiers ready to defend your body against invading microbes.
If inflammation becomes chronic and doesn’t subside, it has almost a reverse effect. Those cells that fight off bacteria and other invaders may become hypersensitive and attack healthy cells in the body. They have become confused. Things that cause a chronic inflammatory response in the body are uncontrolled diabetes, stress and other unhealthy lifestyle choices.
Chronic inflammation is a condition in those with Alzheimer’s and is considered a leading factor in developing the disease.
Oxidization
Oxygen reacts with other substances and changes them. A by-product of oxidation is the formation of free radicals. Free radicals are molecules missing an electron and are highly reactive. These free radicals steal electrons from neurons in the brain, causing damage. The brain works harder than any other organ in the body; it's very vulnerable to oxidative changes. The brain tries to neutralize and clear the free radicals with special cells. Over time with poor lifestyle choices, these clearing cells become damaged, leading to more damage in the brain.
Glucose Dysregulation
The ability of our body to regulate our glucose and insulin is essential to our survival. If, over time, there is damage to the pancreas that produces insulin, we are at risk for insulin resistance, the precursor to diabetes type 2. Insulin is the key that allows the entry of glucose into the cells. If there is too much glucose in your bloodstream, insulin levels rise, and cells become desensitized are not recognizing it and bringing it into the cells; the cells starve without glucose even though there is an overabundance floating in the bloodstream.
High insulin levels cause another process to begin, such as inflammation, oxidization, lipid dysregulation, and tau protein formation (associated with Alzheimer’s).
Lipid Dysregulation
They are caused by excess lipids, inflammation, oxidative damage and other stress. Lipid regulation is impaired, causing more oxidation of lipids creating more harmful products circulating. Many harmful changes occur because of increased lipids, such as harm to our blood vessels in the form of plaques. Plaques impede blood flow and can break off, causing blockages. One result is the formation of amyloid plaques, a plaque strongly related to Alzheimer’s.
What does this mean?
All four of these processes are connected, but any one of those can drive Alzheimer’s disease.
It’s important to consider all the scenarios because any of these four can cause enough harm to cause cell damage, inflammation, plaque build-up, decreased blood flow and so on. These are the initial drivers followed by amyloid plaque and tau protein build-up.
In early-onset Alzheimer’s, tau and amyloid may be the initial cause of the disease, but this is rarer.
Lifestyle is a huge factor in whether you get Alzheimer’s Disease. So, if you have a family history of this disease it’s imperative that you make healthy lifestyle choices so you can prevent the disease.