Understanding AD

 

To understand AD, it is important to understand the workings of the brain to understand the cause of Alzheimer's Disease. The brain is made up of billions of nerve cells (Neurons) connected to each other. As impulses or signals are sent between cells, information is stored which result in us remembering things, allowing us to do things by directing our body movements, and to think about things - analyze and make decisions. How well our brain works depends on the state of health of these neurons, and their ability to connect with each other.

 

As we age, we form plaques and tangles in our brains. Plaques are protein build ups that clog the brain and make it difficult for the signals to transmit between neurons. Tangles are also proteins of twisted fiber which have the same effect of blocking the pathways in the brain by 'tangling' up the neuron connections. Ultimately both make the brain less effective. In AD patients, the presence of plaques and tangles are much much  higher than in the normal person. Hence the drastic reduction in brain functions. Unfortunately there are no procedures to wash the brain of these 'bad actors'. Research work is currently ongoing to understand the formation of plaques and tangles to slow the process and eventually reverse the process, but we are not there yet.

 

The signals between neurons are carried by chemical messengers called acetlcholine. This critical chemical is also found to be lower in AD patients, adding to the loss of brain effectiveness. There are now treatments that will help stem the loss of acetlcholine thereby help slow down the progress of the AD symptoms.