Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease
List of Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease
The list of risk factors mentioned for Alzheimer's Disease in various sources includes:
Risk factors discussion:
The major risk factors for AD are age and family history. Other
possible risk factors include a serious head injury and lower levels of
education. Scientists are also studying additional factors to see if they
may cause the disease. Some of these factors include:
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Genetic (Inherited) Factors: Scientists believe that
genetic factors may be involved in more than half of the cases of AD.
For example, a protein called apolipoprotein E (ApoE) may be important.
Everyone has ApoE, which helps carry cholesterol in the blood. However,
the function of ApoE in the brain is less understood. The ApoE gene has
three forms. One form seems to protect a person from AD, and another
form seems to make a person more likely to develop the disease.
Scientists still need to learn a lot more about ApoE and its role in AD.
-
Environmental Factors: Scientists have found aluminum,
zinc, and other metals in the brain tissue of people with AD. They are
studying these metals to see if they cause AD or if they build up in the
brain as a result of the disease.
-
Viruses: Some scientists think that a virus may cause AD.
They are studying viruses that might cause the changes seen in the brain
tissue of people with AD.
AD probably is not caused by any one factor. It is more likely to be
several factors that act differently in each person. For example, genetic
factors alone may not be enough to cause the disease. Other risk factors
may combine with a person’s genetic makeup to increase her or his chance
of developing the disease. (Source: excerpt from Alzheimer's Disease: NWHIC)
Risks factors for Alzheimer's Disease: medical news summaries:
The following medical news items
are relevant to risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease:
About risk factors:
Risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease are factors that do not seem
to be a direct cause of the disease,
but seem to be associated in some way.
Having a risk factor for Alzheimer's Disease
makes the chances
of getting a condition higher but does
not always lead to Alzheimer's Disease.
Also, the absence of any risk factors
or having a protective factor does not necessarily
guard you against getting Alzheimer's Disease.
For general information and a list of risk factors,
see the risk center.
