Understanding the etiology of Alzheimer's disease. Current approaches

Abstract

Although the cause of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is unknown, known risk factors for the disease include increasing age, positive family history, and previous head trauma. Other, more speculative hypotheses link the cause of AD to infectious agents or environmental toxins. The possible existence of subtypes of AD and of manifestations of the disorder outside the CNS need to be considered in theories of etiology.