Throughout the years, Science has offered a lot for sufferers of Alzheimer's. Alois Alzheimer discovered this disease in 1907 while examining a patient with a severe case of Amnesia. His two discoveries of plaques and tangles being present in the patient's brain stunned the world. What Alzheimer described while examining the patient turned out to be the features of a disease that then became named after him. Science has also offered why this disease destroys the brain. The protein amyloid beta was then found to be in the plaques Dr Alzheimer discovered and that an excess of this protein prevented messages being sent to and from the brain properly. The plaques Dr Alzheimer saw were in many crucial regions of the brain including the parietal lobe and hippocampus. Alzheimer's 2nd discovery of tangles was also found to be responsible for preventing the communication between the neurons of the brain. For decades now, scientists have been trying to unravel the mystery of what causes Alzheimer's.
English: Histopathogic image of senile plaques see...
English: PET scan of a human brain with Alzheimer'...
English: Diagram of how microtubules desintegrate ...According to American Professor John Edwardson, Alzheimer's may be caused by Aluminium. However, this theory is very controversial as others believe that aluminium is not linked to AD due to it being very present in the environment. Robert S.Wilson, PHD of Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago and his research team have evidence to prove that stress may also be the cause of AD. Dr Valenzuela recently won the Eureka prize for his research into preventing AD. It seems that exercising the brain can keep it healthy. Researchers at Columbia University have also proposed that maintaining a healthy diet can combat AD. There is no effective treatment or cure for AD. However, with the new nasal spray and pill called PBT2 in process of testing, Scientists have remained hopeful that this will soon change.
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