New Delhi, September 20 (IANS) As age increases, many problems surround a person, among which is Alzheimer’s, a disease related to loss of memory, which is also known as dementia.
In this disease, a person’s memory starts to decline after a certain age. People often forget things after keeping them. According to experts, in this disease, the brain cells of the patient slowly start to die, due to which they face this problem. If this disease is not taken care of on time, then it can become serious in the future.
World Alzheimer’s Day is celebrated every year on September 21. On this day people are made aware of this disease.
To get more information on a serious condition like Alzheimer’s, IANS spoke to Dr Linda Nazarath, Consultant Pathologist, Metropolis Healthcare.
He said, “Alzheimer’s disease is a neuro-degenerative disease and is the leading cause of dementia in the elderly. It is caused by the accumulation of defective proteins in the brain. The two hallmark protein deposits seen in Alzheimer’s are amyloid plaques and tau tangles.”
Regarding the genetic effect of Alzheimer’s, the doctor said, “Many researches have shown that many types of genes can increase the chances of developing Alzheimer’s in a person. Having more than one first-degree relative suffering from Alzheimer’s increases the risk to a great extent. This disease is divided into two types – familial and sporadic.”
“About 1-5 percent of cases are classified as familial dominant or autosomal dominant. Genetic mutations identified in familial Alzheimer’s include the presenilin 1 gene (PSEN1, 14q24.2), the presenilin 2 gene (PSEN2, 1q42.13), and the amyloid precursor protein gene (APP, 21q21.3). Individuals with these mutations typically develop early-onset Alzheimer’s disease,” he said.
He further said, “Sporadic Alzheimer’s disease develops with aging. However, it is also associated with mutations in the ε4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE, 19q13.32) gene. Late-onset Alzheimer’s disease usually occurs after the age of 65.”
“Understanding synaptic and mitochondrial dysfunction, neurovascular changes, oxidative stress, inflammation, the amyloidogenic cascade, and even bacterial infection is important to explain the development of Alzheimer’s,” he said.
Dr. Linda said, “Due to bad lifestyle, people are falling prey to this disease even at a young age. The cases of this disease coming up at the age of 30 and 40 is a matter of concern in itself.”
He said that there are many reasons for suffering from this disease at a young age. Factors like bad lifestyle, stress, environmental impact, diabetes and heart disease are also responsible for this.
–IANS
MKS/ABM
