Multiple choice

What of the following statements is incorrect about Alzheimer’s disease?

  1. It causes plaques and tangles between and within brain cells.

  2. It is a common form of dementia.

  3. One of the symptoms can be out-of-character mood changes, including agitation; less interest, motivation or initiative; apathy; social withdrawal.

  4. It is more common in people who consume salt without iodine.

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Like all types of dementia, Alzheimer's is caused by brain cells death. It is a neurodegenerative disease, which means there is progressive brain cells death that happens over a course of time. The total brain size shrinks with Alzheimer's - the tissue has progressively fewer nerve cells and connections. In Alzheimer's, there are microscopic 'plaques' and 'tangles' between and within brain cells. While they cannot be seen or tested in the living brain affected by Alzheimer's disease, postmortem/autopsy will always show tiny inclusions in the nerve tissue, called plaques and tangles. Plaques are found between the dying cells in the brain - from the build-up of a protein called beta-amyloid.