Untangling the Alzheimer's Brain: Key Drivers, Risk Factors and Treatment Options
- Deepti Kumar
- Mar 5
- 3 min read
Did you know that 7.2 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s in 2025 and this number is expected to triple by 2050?
What is Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)?
Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia. It is a progressive neurological brain disease characterized by accumulation of beta amyloid plaques and tau protein tangles that causes irreversible brain damage. The part of the brain first affected by this disease is associated with learning and memory. Hence the early symptoms of Alzheimer’s include changes in memory, thinking and reasoning. Symptoms progressively become worse affecting behavior and other aspects of normal functioning.
Who are at risk for developing Alzheimer’s Disease?
Several factors can put you at risk for AD. These include
Age: People 65 and older are at higher risk of developing AD
Gender: Incidence of AD is higher in females
Family history: Risk doubles if a parent or a sibling has AD
Genetics: Certain genetic mutations inevitably lead to development of AD mostly at a younger age (45 years)
Health conditions: Certain health conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes increase the risk of developing AD
Symptoms
The Alzheimer’s association lists the following 10 early signs and symptoms of AD
Forgetting newly learned information
Challenges with planning and problem solving
Difficulty finishing normal tasks
Confusion with respect to time and place
Trouble with visual images and spatial relationships
Trouble with new vocabulary and speaking
Losing things and unable to trace the steps back to find it
Decreased or poor judgement
Withdrawal from hobbies and social activities due to inability to hold or follow a conversation
Changes in mood, easily getting confused, fearful, depressed, anxious, upset.
Progressively symptoms get worse with more severe memory loss, confusion and difficulty speaking, swallowing and walking.
Neuroinflammation: The key driver of Alzheimer’s Disease progression
Inflammation in our body is a natural protective response to injury, illness or infection orchestrated by the immune system. Inflammatory response generated in the brain and spinal cord is referred to as neuroinflammation. A faulty autoimmune response in the brain can trigger a neuroinflammatory response that is damaging to the brain cells and the nervous system. In Alzheimer’s the presence of the abnormal protein triggers a neuroinflammatory response by the immune cells of the brain leading to brain damage and irreversible disease progression. Systemic factors such as the gut microbiome have been shown to play important role in triggering neuroinflammation.
Quest for a cure: What are the available treatment options?
Despite millions of dollars spent on research, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s. The drugs approved by the FDA include those that slow down disease progression or target the beta amyloid plaques in the Alzheimer’s brain such as Lecanemab. Lecanemab works by binding to the beta amyloid protein thereby reducing the formation of plaques. The drug showed promising results reducing cognitive decline by 27%. This is promising for patients with early stage Alzheimer’s. However, the drug is not suitable for all patients with AD and revealed side effects such as brain swelling and bleeding. Targeting the neuroinflammatory component of AD is another focus area for researchers. Several anti-inflammatory drug candidates are being tested in clinical trials as researcher and clinicians are working tirelessly to find a cure for this debilitating disease.
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Assessed and Endorsed by the MedReport Medical Review Board
