No-one quite knows what actually causes Alzheimer’s disease and it is highly likely that no one single factor triggers Alzheimer’s, but a number of factors such as age, genetics and environmental factors that may well differ from one individual to another.

Some experts believe the destruction of brain nerve cells which causes a reduction in acetylcholine (a stimulator), with the damaged cells ultimately blocking the transmission of nerve signals to one another, to be one of the causes of Alzheimer’s.

Others believe abnormal proteins in the brain such as “plaques” and “tangles” are the instigators. These proteins get their name from how they appear on the brain under a microscopic lens.

Plaques are the result of a normal body protein called beta-amyloid that has been transformed into a toxic form of the protein which kills surrounding cells to form these plaque like fibers. The Neurofibrillary Tangle is similar to Plaques and is the result of a buildup of the protein Tau inside brain nerve cells.