5/5/2016 Alzheimer'sdiseaseCausesNHSChoices

Yourhealth,yourchoices
Alzheimer'sdiseaseCauses

CausesofAlzheimer'sdisease
Alzheimer'sdiseaseiscausedbypartsofthebrainshrinking(atrophy),whichaffectsthestructureandfunctionofparticularbrainareas.

It'snotknownexactlywhatcausesthisprocesstobegin.However,inthebrainsofpeoplewithAlzheimer'sdisease,scientistshavefoundamyloidplaques
(abnormaldepositsofprotein),neurofibrillarytangles(containingtau)andimbalancesinachemicalcalledacetylcholine.

It'salsocommontohaveadegreeofvasculardamageinthebrain.

Thesereducetheeffectivenessofhealthyneurons(nervecellsthatcarrymessagestoandfromthebrain),graduallydestroyingthem.

Overtime,thisdamagespreadstoseveralareasofthebrain.Thefirstareasaffectedareresponsibleformemories.

Increasedrisk

Althoughit'sstillunknownwhattriggersAlzheimer'sdisease,severalfactorsareknowntoincreaseyourriskofdevelopingthecondition.

Age

AgeisthesinglemostsignificantfactorinthedevelopmentofAlzheimer'sdisease.Thelikelihoodofdevelopingtheconditiondoubleseveryfiveyearsafter
youreach65yearsofage.

However,it'snotjustolderpeoplewhoareatriskofdevelopingAlzheimer'sdisease.Around1in20peoplewiththeconditionareunder65.Thisiscalled
earlyonsetAlzheimer'sdiseaseanditcanaffectpeoplefromaroundtheageof40.

Familyhistory

ThegenesyouinheritfromyourparentscancontributetoyourriskofdevelopingAlzheimer'sdisease,althoughtheactualincreaseinriskissmallifyou
haveaclosefamilymemberwiththecondition.

However,inafewfamilies,Alzheimer'sdiseaseiscausedbytheinheritanceofasinglegene,andtherisksoftheconditionbeingpassedonaremuch
higher.

Ifseveralofyourfamilymembershavedevelopeddementiaoverthegenerations,itmaybeappropriatetoseekgeneticcounsellingforinformationand
adviceaboutyourchancesofdevelopingAlzheimer'sdiseasewhenyouareolder.

TheAlzheimer'sSocietywebsitehasmoreinformationaboutthegeneticsofdementia.

Down'ssyndrome

PeoplewithDown'ssyndromeareatahigherriskofdevelopingAlzheimer'sdisease.

ThisisbecausethegeneticfaultthatcausesDown'ssyndromecanalsocauseamyloidplaquestobuildupinthebrainovertime,whichcanleadto
Alzheimer'sdiseaseinsomepeople.

Headinjuries

PeoplewhohavehadasevereheadinjuryhavebeenfoundtobeathigherriskofdevelopingAlzheimer'sdisease.

Cardiovasculardisease

ResearchshowsthatseverallifestylefactorsandconditionsassociatedwithcardiovasculardiseasecanincreasetheriskofAlzheimer'sdisease.

Theseinclude:

smoking
obesity
diabetes
highbloodpressure
highcholesterol

Youcanhelpreduceyourriskby:

stoppingsmoking
eatingahealthy,balanceddiet
leadinganactivelife,bothphysicallyandmentally
losingweightifyouneedto
drinkinglessalcohol
havingregularhealthchecksasyougetolder

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Alzheimersdisease/Pages/Causes.aspx 1/2
5/5/2016 Alzheimer'sdiseaseCausesNHSChoices
ReadmoreaboutreducingyourriskofAlzheimer'sdisease.

Pagelastreviewed:17/03/2016

Nextreviewdue:17/03/2018

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Alzheimersdisease/Pages/Causes.aspx 2/2