The exact cause of the Alzheimer’s disease is still unknown. But some pathological features of the disease help physicians to get substantial information about it. Precence of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, and a loss of neurons and synapses in the brain tissue are the major lesions prior to the cytopathology of Alzheimer’s disease.

Basically scientists divides Alzheimer’s disease into two types. Sporadic Alzheimer and Familial Alzheimer .

Familial Alzheimer’s disease is the rare form of Alzheimer’s disease. Approximately less than 10% of patients with Alzheimer’s disease take part in this group.

It’s an autosomal dominant disorder and often have an early age of onset. Mutations in some types of genes such as presenilin-1 or presenilin-2 genes may be the cause of Alzheimer’s disease . Also mutation in the APP gene which is found in the chromosome 21 may lead to familial Alzheimer’s disease.

Sporadic Alzheimer’s disease constitute the vast majority of the cases. In sporadic cases disease can develop in association with the environmental factors and genetical susceptibility.

There is no single factor is involved in the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease ; rather it is likely that Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by many different biological abnormalities. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of amyloidosis in humans. The halmark signatures of the diseases are; amyloid-β deposits between neurons which are named neuritic plaques , cerebrovascular amyloid-β deposits affecting cerebral vessel walls, hyperphosphorilated tau protein in the form of paired helical filaments that are found inner side of the neurons (neurofibrillary tangles), and synaptic loss.
The accumulation of the amyloid-β plaques seems to initiate the beginning of Alzheimer’s disease . However scientists still uncertain if these plaques are the cause of the disease or they are products of Alzheimer’s disease.

Neurochemically in Alzheimer’s dementia multiple neurotransmitter systems’ levels decrease. These neurotransmitters which serve to transmit messages between neurons are acetylcholine, serotonin, norepinephrine, glutamate, γ-amino butyric acid, somatostatin, and dopamine.

Related posts:

1. Alzheimer’s disease risk factors There are a variety of Alzheimer's disease risk factors such...
2. What is Alzheimer’s disease ? In this article, we will try to provide a brief...
3. Fast Food a Risk Factor for Alzheimer’s Disease According to a recent Swedish study there may be a...
4. Signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer’s disease’s rate of progression and characters of symptoms vary...
5. Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease Today the only sure way to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease is...