2025 Alzheimer's Awareness | Page 4

Page 4 Alzheimer’ s Awareness • Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025

ALZHEIMER’ S AWARENESS | MISCONCEPTIONS hometownsource. com

Dispelling Persistent Myths

It’ s important to protect yourself and your loved ones from bad information about its causes, treatments and outcomes.

Alzheimer’ s remains a riddle, even to scientists. They have pinpointed two proteins in trying to determine the cause of this disease. Fragments of one of them build up over time into so-called plaques, while twisted fibers of another create what’ s known as tangles in the brain. Nearly everyone develops both as they age, but those with Alzheimer’ s disease unfortunately develop many more of them. No one knows why. These proteins damage memory first, and then begin impacting other areas of the brain— and that’ s another mystery. With so much still unknown, a series of myths have developed around the disease. Here’ s the truth about some of most common of them, courtesy of the Alzheimer’ s Association.

ALUMINUM CANS

Researchers actually looked into whether exposure to aluminum was linked with Alzheimer’ s decades ago, and conclusively decided that it did not. The worry back then was that we are often surrounded by this metal, in the form of soda cans, pots and pans. Scientists have since moved on to studies of other

possible causes of the disease.

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ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS

The artificial sweetener aspartame has been rumored to cause memory loss, despite appearing in countless products while being sold as the key ingredient in stand-alone items like Equal and Nutrasweet. The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of aspartame in the mid-‘ 90s, and no evidence has been confirmed in the decades that followed linking it to

loss of memory or any other symptom of Alzheimer’ s.

MIRACLE CURES

The FDA has approved drugs that will temporarily slow Alzheimer’ s symptoms, but they only last for a period of months— and only for about half of those who try them. As Alzheimer’ s continues to attack brain cells, unfortunately, it becomes fatal. There are currently no treatments that halt the progression of this disease, though scientists continue working toward that goal.

SILVER FILLINGS

Concerns about dental filling rose as patients learned that they weren’ t composed solely of silver. Instead, they’ re mostly made of mercury, a heavy metal which can be toxic.

But public health institutions including the FDA and the World Health Organization have found no relationship between these amalgam fillings and dementia. Other forms of fillings have also been introduced.

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