Scientists have been working to understand the root causes of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease for decades now. But one of the reasons we don’t yet have a cure for this disease is because of the complexity of the human brain – alongside the complexity of the disease itself.
One of the leading theories in the field suggests that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the abnormal accumulation of two proteins called amyloid beta and tau in the brain, resulting in plaques and tangles. Amyloid plaques are clumps that form between neurons, which can damage surrounding cells, while tau tangles block communication between nerve cells.
