Causes and Risk Factors for Alzheimer’s

Paul Wasser is the president and CEO of Healthcare Operations and Advisory Services of New York. Having worked as a C-level executive in the healthcare sector for years, Mr. Wasser has a ton of experience managing and growing health organizations and hospitals. In 2013, Paul Wasser was awarded first place in Charity Fund Raising for the Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center of Long Island, an organization committed to supporting research towards finding a cure for Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative illness that causes memory loss, disorientation, and a general decline in mental function. Unusual build-up of proteins in and around brain cells is believed to cause the disease. The proteins that cause Alzheimer’s are amyloid and tau. Deposits of amyloid form plaques around the brain cell, while deposits of tau form plaques inside the brain cells.

Apart from the causes of Alzheimer’s, there are factors known to increase people’s risk of getting the disease. One of such factors is family history, or the genes that an individual inherits. Age is also a significant risk factor for Alzheimer’s, as a person’s chances of developing the disease increase every five years once they get to 65. However, 1 in 20 people with Alzheimer’s is under 65. This type of Alzheimer’s is called young-onset or early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and it affects people around 40.