Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease

Thanks to modern medicine, we are all living longer. Unfortunately, our lifespan has now far exceeded our health span, especially when it comes to brain health. This has led to a growing epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease. With an average U.S. lifespan of 80 years and the 85+ age group growing rapidly, 30–40% of those over 85 now show clinical signs of Alzheimer’s. As we live longer, the risk of brain disease increases.

Global

55 million

people globally are living with dementia.

That number is expected to double every 20 years. Alzheimer’s is the only leading cause of death still on the rise.

National

1 in 3

seniors in the United States will die from a brain-related disease.

Alzheimer’s is the fastest-growing cause of death and will kill more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

Individual

#1

Alzheimer’s is individuals’ greatest health concern, surpassing even cancer.

68% fear being a burden on their families, followed by fear of losing memory of their lives and loved ones (32%).

Global

55 million

people globally are living with dementia.

That number is expected to double every 20 years. Alzheimer’s is the only leading cause of death still on the rise.

National

1 in 3

seniors in the United States will die from a brain-related disease.

Alzheimer’s is the fastest-growing cause of death and will kill more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

Individual

#1

Alzheimer’s is individuals’ greatest health concern, surpassing even cancer.

68% fear being a burden on their families, followed by fear of losing memory of their lives and loved ones (32%).

Glow dots pattern one
Glow dots pattern two

Put Out the Fire Before It Starts

Dr. Tanzi has led pioneering research to understand the root causes of Alzheimer’s —excess accumulation of brain beta-amyloid leading to the propagation of neurotoxic tau tangles and neuroinflammation — begin decades before cognitive symptoms of dementia are diagnosed.

By stomping out the root cause of Alzheimer’s early on, the match (beta-amyloid deposition) and the brush fires (propagation of tau tangles) can be extinguished before they cause the wildfire neuroinflammation that kills enough nerve cells to lead to cognitive decline and dementia.

The Match is Struck

Plaques and Tau tangles fuel neuroinflammation and nerve cell death.

Dr. Tanzi’s first breakthrough discovery was identifying the first Alzheimer’s gene, the gene responsible for producing the amyloid precursor protein (APP), which gives rise to toxic brain beta-amyloid, the initial trigger of Alzheimer’s disease. Despite being told at Harvard that brain amyloid was just protein garbage and irrelevant to the disease, he insisted there had to be a gene linked to it, and mutations in this gene would cause Alzheimer’s. He was right.

When APP is cut by certain enzymes, it releases the amyloid beta-protein, a sticky protein that, in excess, forms beta-amyloid plaques in the brain — the main toxins causing Alzheimer’s. Like cholesterol, the amyloid beta-protein, the principal component of beta-amyloid, is necessary in small amounts (to protect against brain infection and regulate the nerve cell communication), but, in excess, causes beta-amyloid deposition, which acts like a lit match to spark disease. It is now clear - the faster one accumulates beta-amyloid in the brain, the sooner one gets Alzheimer’s disease.

The Brushfire Spreads

Tau forms tangles, twisted threads that gum up the inside of nerve cells

When excess amyloid builds up in the brain, it forms plaques that disrupt cell function and communication, triggering a cascade much like a spreading brushfire that ultimately leads to dementia. The first cinders involve clumps of beta-amyloid interacting with neurons, causing tau protein to form tangled, twisted threads inside the nerve cells.

In healthy nerve cells, tau stabilizes microtubules, the cell’s internal support structure, guiding nutrients and molecules. In Alzheimer’s, clumps of beta-amyloid trigger chemical changes that cause tau to detach from the microtubules and twist into tangles, spreading disruption through the neuron like a growing fire consuming everything in its path.

The Wildfire Blazes

Plaques and Tau tangles fuel neuroinflammation and nerve cell death.

Tau tangles form inside nerve cells, creating blockages that disrupt their transport system and communication, like fallen trees blocking a path. This causes cell death and destroys the brain’s neural network. Worse, these tangles can spread like a wildfire, infecting healthy neurons and sparking more tangles. The buildup of plaques and dysfunctional tau fuels nerve cell death leading to neuroinflammation, setting the brain’s health ablaze in Alzheimer’s. Neuroinflammation causes 10-100 times more nerve cell death than the amyloid plaques and tangles that trigger it.

Importance of Early Detection

We only address cognitive decline once it’s diagnosed. By then, the damage is often irreversible.

By the time we observe memory problems and diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, the brain is at the equivalent of the heart at the start of congestive heart failure. The healthcare industry is proactive in preventing heart disease, osteoporosis, and diabetes, but with brain health, we wait until it’s too late.

How Modern Healthcare Has Failed the Brain

  • Major pharmaceutical companies have most recently focused on anti-amyloid antibody treatments for Alzheimer’s, which are expensive and pose safety risks.
  • Blood tests for plaques and tangles in the brain are available, but not routinely offered because they are expensive and not covered by health insurance.
  • Despite major advances in early detection, our healthcare system does not pay attention to the brain until it is too late. At your annual “physical,” you generally do not get a “mental” – there is “no check-up from the neck up."

A New Era of Early Detection Has Arrived

  • The key to beating Alzheimer’s is lifelong brain maintenance. No matter your age, it is essential to embrace this preventative approach to brain health.
  • We know that Alzheimer’s disease begins to damage the brain 10- 30 years before symptoms, providing a window to address it early in life before it leads to cognitive impairment and dementia in later years.
  • Dr. Tanzi has capitalized on four decades of scientific discovery at Massachusetts General Hospital to finally begin clinical trials on powerful drug cocktails designed to stop Alzheimer’s assault on the brain before memory problems arise.
  • Early detection of Alzheimer’s is increasingly possible, thanks to brain imaging and blood tests that can identify the presence of excess beta-amyloid and tangles.
  • Thanks to Dr. Tanzi’s Alzheimer’s-in-a-Dish™ model that recreates decades of Alzheimer’s pathology in just six weeks, FDA-approved drugs and natural products can be tested for their potential to be repurposed for Alzheimer's 100x faster than using traditional mouse models. Dr. Tanzi’s lab has found 300 known FDA-approved drugs and natural products as well as 50 combinations that reduce Alzheimer’s pathology.
  • While 7 million Americans currently have Alzheimer’s disease, an additional 20-40 million have begun the disease process and would benefit from early intervention with a successful drug cocktail.

How Modern Healthcare Has Failed the Brain

Major pharmaceutical companies have most recently focused on anti-amyloid antibody treatments for Alzheimer’s, which are expensive and pose safety risks.
Blood tests for plaques and tangles in the brain are available, but not routinely offered because they are expensive and not covered by health insurance.
Despite major advances in early detection, our healthcare system does not pay attention to the brain until it is too late. At your annual “physical,” you generally do not get a “mental” – there is “no check-up from the neck up."

A New Era of Early Detection Has Arrived

The key to beating Alzheimer’s is lifelong brain maintenance. No matter your age, it is essential to embrace this preventative approach to brain health.
We know that Alzheimer’s disease begins to damage the brain 10- 30 years before symptoms, providing a window to address it early in life before it leads to cognitive impairment and dementia in later years.
Dr. Tanzi has capitalized on four decades of scientific discovery at Massachusetts General Hospital to finally begin clinical trials on powerful drug cocktails designed to stop Alzheimer’s assault on the brain before memory problems arise.
Early detection of Alzheimer’s is increasingly possible, thanks to brain imaging and blood tests that can identify the presence of excess beta-amyloid and tangles.
Thanks to Dr. Tanzi’s Alzheimer’s-in-a-Dish™ model that recreates decades of Alzheimer’s pathology in just six weeks, FDA-approved drugs and natural products can be tested for their potential to be repurposed for Alzheimer's 100x faster than using traditional mouse models. Dr. Tanzi’s lab has found 300 known FDA-approved drugs and natural products as well as 50 combinations that reduce Alzheimer’s pathology.
While 7 million Americans currently have Alzheimer’s disease, an additional 20-40 million have begun the disease process and would benefit from early intervention with a successful drug cocktail.

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