ALZHEIMER’ S AWARENESS | AWARENESS
hometownsource. com Alzheimer’ s Awareness • Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025 Page 5
ALZHEIMER’ S AWARENESS | AWARENESS
What Causes Alzheimer’ s?
We’ ve learned a lot about this disease recently, but there are still questions.
Let’ s break down what we know, and what we don’ t know, about an issue that impacts some 6.5 million Americans, according to the Alzheimer’ s Association.
WHAT WE KNOW
Risk factor: Age remains the biggest risk factor when discussing Alzheimer’ s. Symptoms appear for most after the age of 65. Brain-imaging technology has helped in identifying buildups of special kinds of proteins related to the disease, making it easier to diagnose before obvious symptoms begin to emerge.
Lifestyle choices: Eating healthy foods, exercising and getting the proper amount of sleep, and remaining social and upbeat are preventative measures you can take, researchers say. One study cited by the AARP showed that lifestyle changes may reduce your risk by as much as 35 %.
Racial Disparity: African Americans are twice as likely as Caucasians to develop Alzheimer’ s. Hispanics are 1.5 times more likely than whites. Other socioeconomic factors like income,
© ADOBE STOCK education level and even where you live seem to play a role, too. Linked genes: APOE, which has several forms, has been linked to increased risk of Alzheimer’ s— specifically a APOE e4 protein. Your risk increases if you have a copy of this protein from both parents. On the other hand, APOE e2 actually reduces your risk of getting Alzheimer’ s.
WHAT WE DON’ T KNOW
Specific triggers: Scientists still don’ t know what causes abnormal proteins to begin depositing in our brains, or how they damage our neurons. A small percentage of patients have a build-up of plaque, but are never diagnosed with Alzheimer’ s— and that also remains a mystery.
How the genes work: Scientists know that this disease is most likely the result of interactions between dozens of genes. But we haven’ t successfully mapped out how these complex processes lead to Alzheimer’ s.
Medicines that will help: There are available drugs that may offer limited relief with Alzheimer’ s symptoms, but none have been shown to cure or even slow down the disease. Some pharmaceutical companies have decided to halt development projects for Alzheimer’ s drugs. That’ s because the failure rate for these drugs has been 99 %, according to the AARP.
What else matters: Researchers are also still studying whether certain social factors may have a causal link, or if others may help people build up individual resilience against Alzheimer’ s.
Yorkshire of Edina Senior Living Invites You to Our
Open House & Fundraiser for Walk to End Alzheimer’ s
Join us on September 23rd from 4:00 pm- 6:00 pm for a fun afternoon at Yorkshire of Edina Senior Living.
Fundraising ticket options include:
• Dunk a Team Member
• Meal & Refreshment
• Door prizes
• Games
Live Music: Tim Patrick singing Crooners Music
Take a Tour: Explore our beautiful community and learn more about the services we offer.
Please consider donating to our Team for Walk to End Alzheimer’ s
We look forward to welcoming you!
Independent Living I Assisted Living I Memory Care I Enhanced Care 7141 York Ave S, Edina, MN 55435 •( 612) 866-0259 • yorkshireofedina. com
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