What Is Late Onset Alzheimer's
Madison Boggan
Genetics, Me and Alzheimer’s
After reflecting on the Day of Common Learning, I began to ponder the disease that afflicted my great grandmother, Alzheimer’s. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease that causes problems with memory, behavior and thinking. Aging often leads to plaques and tangles but people with Alzheimer’s tend to develop more of these aforementioned neural problems. Additionally, plaques and tangles tend to develop in regions of the brain responsible for memory before invading other areas of the brain in people suffering from Alzheimer’s. Plaques are protein fragment deposits called beta-amyloid. These plaques build up in the spaces between nerve cells. Tangles are formed …show more content…
These links exist between both risk factor genes and deterministic genes. There has been one risk factor gene narrowed down that increases the chance a person will develop late-onset Alzheimer’s, however, the research has not found one specific gene that definitively causes late-onset Alzheimer’s. As for the deterministic genes, there are three specific genes which code for proteins that have been found to cause early-onset Alzheimer’s. Early-onset Alzheimer’s occurs between the ages of 30 and 60 years (“Alzheimer's Disease Genetics”, 2016). On the other hand, there are several environmental factors that have been connected to Alzheimer’s which the Alzheimer’s Association has stated. One of these risk factors is head trauma. The link between head injury and developing Alzheimer’s is stronger when the head trauma occurs multiple times or when it involves losing consciousness. Additionally, research has found a link between Alzheimer’s and poor heart health. If the heart or blood vessels are damaged, then the amount of nutrients and oxygen reaching the brain decreases. The brain heavily relies on this transportation system and the health of the brain can be comprised if heart health decreases. Studies of brain tissue suggest that plaques and tangles more commonly lead to Alzheimer’s if a stroke has occurred or if damage to blood vessels has occurred. That being said, some populations are more affected by Alzheimer’s than others. Some of these populations are Latinos and African Americans living in the United States. These populations are at greater risk for Alzheimer’s because they have higher rates of vascular disease. Another population that is greatly affected by Alzheimer’s is the older adult population. Only 5% of people with Alzheimer’s are considered early-onset, therefore, 95% of people with Alzheimer’s are above the age of 60 ("What Is
Genetics, Me and Alzheimer’s
After reflecting on the Day of Common Learning, I began to ponder the disease that afflicted my great grandmother, Alzheimer’s. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease that causes problems with memory, behavior and thinking. Aging often leads to plaques and tangles but people with Alzheimer’s tend to develop more of these aforementioned neural problems. Additionally, plaques and tangles tend to develop in regions of the brain responsible for memory before invading other areas of the brain in people suffering from Alzheimer’s. Plaques are protein fragment deposits called beta-amyloid. These plaques build up in the spaces between nerve cells. Tangles are formed …show more content…
These links exist between both risk factor genes and deterministic genes. There has been one risk factor gene narrowed down that increases the chance a person will develop late-onset Alzheimer’s, however, the research has not found one specific gene that definitively causes late-onset Alzheimer’s. As for the deterministic genes, there are three specific genes which code for proteins that have been found to cause early-onset Alzheimer’s. Early-onset Alzheimer’s occurs between the ages of 30 and 60 years (“Alzheimer's Disease Genetics”, 2016). On the other hand, there are several environmental factors that have been connected to Alzheimer’s which the Alzheimer’s Association has stated. One of these risk factors is head trauma. The link between head injury and developing Alzheimer’s is stronger when the head trauma occurs multiple times or when it involves losing consciousness. Additionally, research has found a link between Alzheimer’s and poor heart health. If the heart or blood vessels are damaged, then the amount of nutrients and oxygen reaching the brain decreases. The brain heavily relies on this transportation system and the health of the brain can be comprised if heart health decreases. Studies of brain tissue suggest that plaques and tangles more commonly lead to Alzheimer’s if a stroke has occurred or if damage to blood vessels has occurred. That being said, some populations are more affected by Alzheimer’s than others. Some of these populations are Latinos and African Americans living in the United States. These populations are at greater risk for Alzheimer’s because they have higher rates of vascular disease. Another population that is greatly affected by Alzheimer’s is the older adult population. Only 5% of people with Alzheimer’s are considered early-onset, therefore, 95% of people with Alzheimer’s are above the age of 60 ("What Is