The brain is an enormous network of communication, containing over 100 billion nerve cells, or neurons, with branches that connect at more than 100 trillion points. They are constantly sending signals through a vast neuron forest that forms memories, thoughts and feelings; these patterns of activity form the essence of each person. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) disrupts both the way electrical charges travel within cells and the activity of neurotransmitters. An AD brain has fewer nerve cells and synapses than a healthy brain; plaques and abnormal clusters of protein fragments accumulate between nerve cells. The major pathological indicators of AD are the accumulation of amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. The pathways in our neuron forest are systemically attacked and destroyed by amyloid beta (Aβ): a solitary molecule that evolves into plaque clusters, which block cell-to-cell signalling at synapses. They may also activate immune system cells that result in inflammation and destroy damaged cells.
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