Alzheimer's Hypothesis

Alzheimer's Hypothesis

Did you know that Alzheimer's disease kills more people than both prostate and breast cancer put together? This neurodegenerative illness is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, but not only does Alzheimer's affect the five million Americans living with it. People caring for those with the disease gave up around eighteen billion of their own hours this past year to provide the needed service. What's even more staggering is that these caregivers put in these hours without pay. Alzheimer's is a serious concern to scientists, but the disease is rooted in the most complex, confusing part of the human body, the brain. This is a reason why an effective cure for the disease has been unavailable in the past, but new developments ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...It is a degenerative disease, which means it gets worse over time and as of right now, there is no way to reverse its negative effects. Scientists are not entirely sure what causes Alzheimer's, but the widely accepted theory is known as the amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer's. This hypothesis states that Alzheimer's is caused by a buildup of plaques in the brain that damage or kill neurons. These plaques form when sticky proteins called amyloid beta clump together. Amyloid beta proteins are produced when amyloid precursor protein (APP) is chopped into multiple pieces by Beta–site Amyloid precursor protein Cleaving Enzyme 1 (BACE1) and an enzyme referred to as gamma–secretase. The process begins with APP, which sticks out from the membranes of cells, is cut by BACE1, which makes small pieces called sAPP beta, which are unrelated to the development of Alzheimer's. The small fragment that still remains in the cell membrane is then chopped by gamma–secretase, giving off amyloid beta. There are two main types of treatments that are being researched that scientists believe could slow or even completely eliminate Alzheimer's, antibody therapies and BACE1

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