The following is courtesy of Home Helpers of Lake Norman & Central NC. Visit our website at www.homehelpers.cc/lkn58445 , or call us at 704.909.7958 .
Like the rest of our bodies, our brains change as we age. We all notice some slowed thinking and occasional problems with remembering certain things. Everyone jokes about this, and credits the problem to "having a senior moment". It's all quite normal. However, serious memory loss, confusion and other major changes in the way our minds work are not a normal part of aging. This could be a sign that brain cells are failing for some reason.
There are over 100 billion nerve cells or neurons in a normal brain. Each nerve cell communicates with others to form networks. These networks have special jobs. Some networks are associated with thinking, learning and remembering. Others are used for sight, hearing and smell. Others tell our muscles when to move. In a patient with Alzheimer’s disease, as in other types of dementia, increasing numbers of brain cells deteriorate and die.
There are two abnormal structures in brain cells, plaques and tangles:
- Tangles form inside dying cells. Tangles are twisted fibers of a protein called "tau". Though most people develop some plaques and tangles as they age, those with Alzheimer’s tend to develop far more.
- Plaques build up between nerve cells. They contain deposits of a protein fragment called beta-amyloid.
These are prime suspects in damaging and killing nerve cells. Dr. Alzheimer recognized these abnormal cells in the brains of patients, although he referred to them differently.
There's no definitive knowledge of what role plaques and tangles play in Alzheimer’s disease. Most experts believe they somehow block communication among nerve cells and disrupt activities that cells need to survive.
