My Travel Through Alzheimer #1

 

Figure 1. The physiological structure of the brain and neurons in (

a) healthy brain and (b) Alzheimer’s disease (AD)

https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/25/24/5789 brain 

Two of my father's brothers and several cousins on that side of the family died of Alzheimer. 

I wasn't worried. After all, my father was fine. 

I'm not fine.

What is Alzheimer?

Alzheimer’s first damages the parts of the brain involved in memory. It later affects areas responsible for language, reasoning, and social behavior. Eventually, the disease damages many other areas of the brain.

A hallmark feature of Alzheimer’s is the buildup of abnormal clumps of protein. These Amyloids form plaques, piles of proteins, held together by Tue tangles, think of it as a glue. These disrupt the usual functions of brain cells.

The loss of connections between nerve cells (neurons) is another change that happens with the disease. Neurons send messages between different parts of the brain, and from the brain to muscles and organs in the body. With Alzheimer’s, many neurons stop functioning properly, lose connections with other neurons, and eventually die. Many other complex brain changes are thought to play a role in the disease as well.

What causes it?

Lists like these abound.

• High blood pressure after the age of 40
• High cholesterol after the age of 40
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Lack of exercise
• Lack of sleep or poor sleep quality
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Smoking and secondhand smoke
• Air pollution
• Traumatic brain injury
• Depression
• Lower levels of education
• Social isolation
• Untreated hearing loss
• Untreated vision loss

The two in red are the only ones that apply to me. I marked social isolation, but I don't think so. Some I know disagree, hence their inclusion in my list.

Enough for today. I think is a good start.

* * * ** * * * * * * * *

Amazon's Author's Page: http://tinyurl.com/CRD-Author
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CRDowningAurhor?ref=hl

My Blogs

Life as I see it: Topics range from general interest to lovers of life: authors, teachers, etc,

http://crdowning-aurhot.blogspot.com/?alt=rss

My Christian Context: Periodic posts on Christianity

http://my christiancontext.bloggspot.com/

Website: www.crdowing.com