Alzheimer's and the cells

Alzheimer's this disease form a widely dispersed areas of the brain, the senses send information to the hippocampal complex. here, where the information is packaged into memories, also is where Alzheimer's begins. The two hallmarks of the disease are amyloid beta plaques and tau tangles.

Amyloid beta plaque: One of the two anatomical hallmarks of Alzheimer's. Amyloid beta is a fragment derived from a larger protein called app, for amyloid precursor protein. In a healthy brain, these fragments are broken down and eliminated. In aging and diseased brains they accumulate between neurons, eventually causing their death.

Entorhinal cortex: Part of the hippocampal memory complex, the entorhinal cortex is the initial processing center for the informational bits of experience that are assembled into a memory.

Hippocampus:The central memory system, located in the medial temporal lobe. Memories are encoded here before being shipped out for storage to other locations in the neocortex.

Microtubules: Tunnel-like structures inside cells that help transport nutrients and other important biochemicals from one part of the neuron to another.

Neurofibrillary tangles: One of the two anatomical hallmarks of Alzheimer's. The other is amyloid beta plaque. In healthy cells, long tau protein fibers help maintain cells structure.

How nerve cells communicate

In Alzheimer's these paired helical filaments become tangled and destroy microtubules, thereby disrupting communication between neurons.

Tau: A protein present in all nerve cells, tau ...rhymes with now acts as a stabilizer of the microtubules.In Alzheimer's, an overproduction of tau causes tangles to develop and nerve cells to die.

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