Can The Healthy Brain Offer Clues to Curing Alzheimer’s?

As Alzheimer’s Disease becomes more prevelant, as more people know someone who has been diagnosed and is now suffering from it, one question rises higher and higher in the conversation. Is there a cure yet? When something is abstract, it’s hard to understand; but when a loved one begins losing their independence as their ability to mentally function slips away, the abstract becomes real.

Medical science still lacks an Alzheimer’s treatment, and no cure is on the immediate horizon. But researchers continue to investigate, and understanding of both what Alzheimer’s does in the brain, as well as early warning signs, continue to build up.

Protein deposits that can form on neural tissue are connected to Alzheimer’s Disease. When these begin to appear, the normal function of the brain starts to be affected. This is not new information; but how and why it happens is starting to become clearer. One new piece of data is the size of brain areas that are being so afflicted shrink. This reduction in size seems to come with the onset of memory issues. As the areas of the brain shrink, a patient becomes less able to utilize their memories. Or even sees them lost entirely.

The brain is one of the parts of the human body that is still only slightly understood. Doctors continue to gather knowledge, in hopes it will peel back the mysteries for neurological degenerative conditions.