Causes of Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's Disease Causes: Risk Factors
The following conditions have been cited in various
sources as potentially causal risk factors
related to Alzheimer's Disease:
Alzheimer's Disease Causes: Male-Female Gender Ratio
Gender Profile of Alzheimer's Disease: AD is twice as common in women than in men, although former president Ronald Reagan is a well known disease sufferer.
(Source: Genes and Disease by the National Center for Biotechnology)...more »
Gender Profile of Alzheimer's Disease: Studies have shown that while the number of new cases of AD is similar in
older adult women and men, the... (Source: excerpt from Women Hold Up Half the Sky: NIMH)
...more »
Alzheimer's Disease: Related Medical Conditions
To research the causes of Alzheimer's Disease, consider researching the causes of these
these diseases that may be similar, or associated with Alzheimer's Disease:
Alzheimer's Disease: Causes and Types
Causes of Types of Alzheimer's Disease: Review the cause informationfor the various types of Alzheimer's Disease:
- Familial Alzheimer's disease - an early-onset inherited genetic form.
- more types...»
Causes of Broader Categories of Alzheimer's Disease: Review the causal information about the various more general categories of medical conditions:
Alzheimer's Disease as a complication of other conditions:
Other conditions that might have
Alzheimer's Disease as a complication may,
potentially, be an underlying cause of Alzheimer's Disease.
Our database lists the following as having
Alzheimer's Disease as a complication of that condition:
Alzheimer's Disease as a symptom:
Conditions listing Alzheimer's Disease
as a symptom may also be potential underlying causes of Alzheimer's Disease.
Our database lists the following as having
Alzheimer's Disease as a symptom of that condition:
Medications or substances causing Alzheimer's Disease:
The following drugs, medications, substances or toxins are some of the possible
causes of Alzheimer's Disease as a symptom.
This list is incomplete and various other drugs or substances
may cause your symptoms.
Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using,
including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.
See full list of 16
medications causing Alzheimer's Disease
What causes Alzheimer's Disease?
Article excerpts about the
causes of Alzheimer's Disease:
NIA's Progress Report on Alzheimer's Disease, 1998: NIA (Excerpt)
The risk of developing AD increases with age, but AD and dementia symptoms
are not a part of normal aging. AD and other dementing disorders in old age are
caused by diseases. In the absence of a disease, the human brain often can
function well into the tenth decade of life and beyond. (Source: excerpt from NIA's Progress Report on Alzheimer's Disease, 1998: NIA)
NIA's Progress Report on Alzheimer's Disease, 1998: NIA (Excerpt)
Two abnormal structures in the brain have long been known as hallmarks of AD:
amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Plaques are dense deposits of an
amyloid protein (called beta-amyloid), other associated proteins, and non-nerve
cells that gradually build up outside and around neurons. Amyloid is a generic
name for protein fragments that aggregate (collect or mass together) in a
specific way to form insoluble deposits. The fragments can arise from different
mechanisms. Neurofibrillary tangles are insoluble twisted fibers that build up
inside neurons. Much progress has been made in determining the makeup of amyloid
plaques and neurofibrillary tangles and in proposing mechanisms that could
account for their buildup in AD. (Source: excerpt from NIA's Progress Report on Alzheimer's Disease, 1998: NIA)
NIA's Progress Report on Alzheimer's Disease, 1998: NIA (Excerpt)
One longstanding theory of aging suggests that the buildup of damage from
oxidative processes in neurons causes a loss of function. Scientists believe
that free radicals produced through oxidative mechanisms play a role in several
diseases, including cancer and AD. (Source: excerpt from NIA's Progress Report on Alzheimer's Disease, 1998: NIA)
Medical news summaries relating to Alzheimer's Disease:
The following medical news items are relevant to causes of Alzheimer's Disease:
Related information on causes of Alzheimer's Disease:
As with all medical conditions,
there may be many causal factors.
Further relevant information on causes of Alzheimer's Disease may be found in:
