CAUSES OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (Alz) AND POTENTIAL REMEDIES

Abstract

Late onset Alzheimer's disease (Alz) affects 40 to 50% of older populations of prosperous nations. Advancing Alz eventually renders the aficted helpless and without memory. Other elders have some reduction in cognition but sustain sufcient capabilities to not be helpless and retain sufcient cognition to live well until their fatal diseases. Despite decades of sound research and as many as 200 clinical trials of putative treatments to halt advancing Alz, all attempts failed to yield an effective medication. Epidemiological research has identied many correlates (risk-factors) of developing Alz. It is posited that an accumulation of the consequences of the various risk-factors is sufcient to induce Alz. Possibly, different combinations of risks can cause sufcient chaos of the brain's physiology to be the conditions starting and advancing Alz. For example, insufcient circulating B-vitamins, manifest as hyperhomocysteinemia, and regularly taking of drugs with severe anticholinergic burdens could cause such wide-spread effects to be a setting condition for developing Alz. Both potential setting conditions can be rectied hence could prevent the development of Alz. Other combinations of risks might be causal and might be treatable, hence preventing Alz.