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C URCUMIN AND M EMORY : A LZHEIMER ’ S AND D EMENTIA
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“electrical” pathways can allow the system to continue to function
without impairment.
How do you grow more dendrites and refresh your neuron sup-
ply? No one is really sure, but there is evidence that the more you
challenge your brain, the more extensive your neuronal network
will be.
Another process characteristic of Alzheimer’s is the formation
of beta-amyloid plaques and tangles. The beta-amyloid plaques
are made of protein that accumulates around the neurons rather
than being eliminated by the body, as they are in a healthy person,
thereby damaging the function of the brain.
In addition, tangled proteins called tau fibers inside the neuron
further impair the mental process.
These plaques and tangles and disrupted neuronal function
most often occur in the hippocampus, the lower part of the human
brain that is responsible for memory. For unknown reasons, Alz -
heimer’s and other forms of dementia frequently affect the area of
the hippocampus that controls short-term memory. That’s why
Grandma may have no idea what she ate for breakfast, but she can
recount in great detail the guest list and menu from a dinner party
30 years ago.
Alzheimer’s is usually staged in seven levels, the seventh stage
being inevitably fatal when the neuronal network has failed to the
extent that bodily functions that require little or no thought (like
swallowing or coughing) become so impaired that their failure is
life threatening.
The average life expectancy for someone with Alzheimer’s is
8 to 10 years from the onset of symptoms, although it may take
several years to obtain a diagnosis.
YES, IT CAN BE INHERITED—OR NOT
There is a genetic component of Alzheimer’s, both with late onset
and the increasingly diagnosed early onset. Scientists have identified
the genetic component, called APOE that can forecast a person’s