Imagine a person you love is wandering the streets not knowing who or what anything is! Imagine, a police officer asking you where you last saw this person! Imagine looking for them and having to always tell them who you are! These can be the affects of Alzheimer's disease (Alzheimer's). Alzheimer's disease is a loss of memory and it can be temporary or permanent depending on how severe the case is. .
The cause of Alzheimer's disease is currently unknown, but researchers believe that it is one of the following, a slow virus, an auto immune reaction (the body attacks itself), or a biochemical imbalance in the brain. By looking at the brains of Alzheimer patients under the microscope, researchers have found that they have abnormal deposits of a protein called "amyloid". This plaque may also be a cause of Alzheimer's disease; this plaque creates an unbalance of proteins. Studies have shown that this amyloid is neurotoxic (poisons brain cells) and is the reason why the brain deteriorates. It has also been found that amyloid conflicts with normal brain functioning.