What Is Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain's nerve cells, or neurons, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills, and behavioral changes.  These neurons, which produce the brain chemical, or neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, break connections with other nerve cells and ultimately die.  Short-term memory fails when Alzheimer's disease first destroys nerve cells in the hippocampus, and judgment and language skills decline when neurons die in the cerebral cortex. 

Two types of abnormal lesions clog the brains of individuals with Alzheimer's disease: Beta-amyloid plaques—sticky clumps of protein fragments and cellular material that form outside and around neurons; and neurofibrillary tangles—insoluble twisted fibers composed largely of the protein tau that build up inside nerve cells.  Although these structures are hallmarks of the disease, scientists are unclear whether they cause it or a byproduct of it. 

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, or loss of intellectual function, among people aged 65 and older.  Alzheimer's disease is not a normal part of aging. 

The term Alzheimer's disease dates back to 1906 when Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German physician, presented a case history before a medical meeting of a 51-year-old woman who suffered from a rare brain disorder.  A brain autopsy identified the plaques and tangles that today characterize Alzheimer's disease.

Dutch Haven Assisted Living in Maurertown, VA and Chestnut Grove a Senior Living Community in Richmond, VA both provide “Morning Glory” a program designed to assist with memory loss and other forms of dementia.  You can contact either facility for a tour by clicking on their name in this article.