What Is Alzheimer S Disease Caused By
There probably is not one single cause but several factors that affect each person differently.
What is alzheimer s disease caused by. 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. Age is the best known risk factor for alzheimer s disease. Less than 1 percent of the time alzheimer s is caused by specific genetic changes that virtually guarantee a person will develop the disease. Scientists don t yet fully understand what causes alzheimer s disease in most people.
Family history researchers believe that genetics may play a role in developing alzheimer s disease. Research is still being conducted to learn a lot more about what causes alzheimer s disease. Changes in the brain can begin years before the first symptoms appear. The importance of any one of these factors in increasing or decreasing the risk of alzheimer s disease may differ from person to person.
While some risk factors age family history and heredity can t be changed emerging evidence suggests there may be other factors we can influence. Alzheimer s is a progressive disease where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. Everyone has apoe which helps carry cholesterol in the blood. Health environmental and lifestyle factors that may contribute to alzheimer s disease.
The causes probably include a combination of age related changes in the brain along with genetic environmental and lifestyle factors. The apoe gene has three forms. Alzheimer s is the sixth leading cause of death in the united states.