What Causes Alzheimer's?

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia in older adults. This disease affects 5.1 million Americans today and this number is predicted to increase in the years to come.

So what causes this disease? Alzheimer's is probably a combination of factors relating to genetics, environment and lifestyle. For purposes of this article, lets focus on some new information being distributed in the field of medical research.

Oligomers, Floating Clumps of Protein

For nearly two decades, the experts believed that plaque found in the brain was the reason for Alzheimer's disease. According to a recent AARP Bulletin written by Elizabeth Angvall ,there may be another explanation for Alzheimer's.

Sam Gandy, M.D., of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, believes that floating clumps of protein may be responsible. He believes these clumps of protein damage our brains over time and result in loss of cognitive functioning.

There are two types of protein shapes that have been found in Alzheimer's brains. One is amyloid plaques that have hairpin shape fibers and the other is oligomers which are free floating protein clumps. The amyloid plaques and oligomers are from the same protein we all have in our bodies. For some reason, as we age, the oligomers build up in our brains.

Abnormal buildup of proteins form amyloid plaques and tau tangles throughout the brain. Tau tangles are protein that twists around the inside of brain cells. Neurons in these brain cells begin to work less efficiently and lose their ability to function and communicate with each other. Then neurons begin to die. It is for this reason that Gandy and others are looking into oligomers and tau tangles in brains of Alzheimer individuals.

More research needs to be done. Sam Gandy's research needs to be replicated and substantiated. It will take this before drug companies zero in on oligomers rather than plaque in the brain, as being a contributor of Alzheimer's. Medicines will have to be developed that target oligomers and that could take 10-15 years to accomplish.

Challenges, Planning, Long Term Care

If you have a parent or relative living with Alzheimer's, you know the challenges of this disease. You may have observed the changes in thinking, memory, reasoning and even personality your loved one has displayed. It may have progressed to the extent that it interfered with their daily living skills and activities. Individuals with Alzheimer's and their family members will eventually consider long term care.

If you are contemplating long term care for a loved one or even for yourself in the future, you should research long term care insurance. It is a way to protect assets and retirement funds while providing for care when and if needed.

Do this now versus later. Get several quotes online. Its fast, free and you are under no obligation to buy.