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What Happens to ACH That May Cause Alzheimer's?

Decreased levels of the chemical acetylcholine are seen in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Acetylcholine has an important role in the communication between all cells in the body, including the brain. Some things happen when you have Alzheimer's disease that interfere with brain-cell communication.

  1. Alzheimer's Disease

    • Alzheimer's disease is a brain disorder that slowly gets worse over time and cannot be reversed. Alzheimer's disease limits a person's memory and ability to think, reason, learn, make judgments and communicate. According to an article in the "Journal of Molecular Neuroscience" (Volume 17, Number 2, pages 137-145, from October, 2001), accumulation of excess amyloid protein is associated with Alzheimer's disease.

    Acetylcholine

    • In the early 1900s, acetylcholine (Ach) was the first neurotransmitter to be identified. A neurotransmitter allows communication of information from one nerve cell to another. Acetylcholine is a major neurotransmitter in the brain. It plays an important part in memory, learning and many other brain functions. According to an article in KnowItAlz, an Alzheimer's caregiver community blog, those suffering from Alzheimer's disease have low levels of acetylcholine. The amount of acetylcholine decreases naturally as you age. In Alzheimer's disease, acetylcholine decreases much faster than normal because of the accumulation of two abnormal proteins. These proteins kill acetylcholine-transmitting cells. The gradual death of cholinergic brain cells, cells that transmit acetylcholine, results in a progressive and significant loss of brain function.

    Amyloid Plaques

    • One of the leading characteristics of Alzheimer's disease is the buildup of amyloid plaques between nerve cells of the brain. Amyloid describes protein fragments that the body produces normally. Beta amyloid is a protein piece that comes from a preamyloid protein. In a normal brain, these protein pieces are broken down and eliminated from the brain naturally. In Alzheimer's disease, the protein pieces are not broken down, but rather they accumulate to form hard plaques.

    Neurofibrillary Tangles

    • Neurofibrillary tangles are tangled fibers inside the brain's cells. These tangles are chiefly made up of a protein called tau. Tau forms a portion of a structure called a microtubule, which transports important substances from one part of the nerve cell to another. In Alzheimer's disease, the tau protein is not normal in the brain, and the microtubules collapse.

    Drugs

    • There is no cure for Alzheimer's disease. Some drugs help ease symptoms. The drugs inhibit acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme that inactivates acetylcholine. Stopping this enzyme prevents the normal breakdown of acetylcholine. This can compensate for the decreased acetylcholine in Alzheimer's patients that happens because of the death of the acetylcholine-transmitting cells. The most widely used drug for Alzheimer's patients is Aricept, according to AccentCare.

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