What Is Alzheimer S Disease Caused By
In its early stages memory loss is mild but with late stage alzheimer s individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment.
What is alzheimer s disease caused by. The causes probably include a combination of age related changes in the brain along with genetic environmental and lifestyle factors. Scientists believe that for most people alzheimer s disease is caused by a combination of genetic lifestyle and environmental factors that affect the brain over time. Alzheimer s is a progressive disease where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. There probably is not one single cause but several factors that affect each person differently.
Research is still being conducted to learn a lot more about what causes alzheimer s disease. Researchers believe that alzheimer s disease and other dementias are likely caused by multiple factors including genetics lifestyle and environment. Age is the best known risk factor for alzheimer s disease. Health environmental and lifestyle factors that may contribute to alzheimer s disease.
Scientists don t yet fully understand what causes alzheimer s disease in most people. Changes in the brain can begin years before the first symptoms appear. One risk factor for this type of alzheimer s disease is a protein called apolipoprotein e apoe. While some risk factors age family history and heredity can t be changed emerging evidence suggests there may be other factors we can influence.
Less than 1 percent of the time alzheimer s is caused by specific genetic changes that virtually guarantee a person will develop the disease. Family history researchers believe that genetics may play a role in developing alzheimer s disease. The apoe gene has three forms.