Problem:

Focus Question: Can Alzheimer's be reversed by medication or changes in lifestyle?

Over 7 million Americans are diagnosed with Alzheimer's,and by 2050 it will rise by 13 million.  This is a bar graph of how much the population is getting Alzheimer's every 10 years.  It shows that the expectation for Alzheimer's will  keep rising. The second graph shows that females have a higher risk of Alzheimer's than men.

Hypothesis

I believe that Alzheimer's can be slowly reversed if we change  lifestyles or find medication.

Method

My method consisted of filling in a draft that my whole class was assigned to do before starting our real copy so that it would be easier to do the final copy.

1: I first started by researching my problem,in order to make a question,and I also filled out my hypothesis.

2: I started working on my research,like what Alzheimer’s is,causes,theories to cure,and more. Throughout the days,I gradually added more information to my research.

3: I worked on scientific principles,results,concepts,and my conclusion.

4: I looked at all my research and filled in my whats next section.

While I was doing all of this,I made sure that I cited my references and worked on my logbook.

Research

What is Alzheimer's?

Alzheimer's is a  type of dementia(loss of memory, language ,and problem solving) that affects the memory,thinking and behaviour. It kills the cells in your brain,which makes your brain shrink. It is created by beta amyloids,which is created by a protein called APP. It also comes from tau tangles. Tau is a protein found in neurons that transport nutrients through our cells. When unusual things occur in the tau,they create sticky,thread like tangles. Tau tangles are also called neurofibrillary tangles.

The orange is tau tangles,and the blue is amyloid plaques inside a neuron.

Causes:

Genetics can sometimes give you Alzheimer's . In most cases it does not  have a single genetic cause,but is instead comes by multiple genes in combination of lifestyle. People who get Alzheimer's don't always necessarily get it by genetics,but if you have a family member that has Alzheimer's,the higher your risk is. One well known gene that can give you Alzheimer's is the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene. This gene is supposed to make proteins that help carry cholesterol and other fats in the bloodstream. Problems in the process can help your risk of getting Alzheimer's. APOE comes in several forms called alleles,like ε2, ε3. Every one gets one APOE allele from each parent. If you get the ε4,you have a higher risk of Alzheimer's.  There are some high risk factors like

• Unhealthy diet
• Smoking
• High blood pressure
• Not enough sleep.

Stages of Alzheimer's

The 3 stages of Alzheimer's is early, middle and late. Alzheimer’s disease worsens over time. The average person can live 4-8 years with Alzheimer's,but can also live up to 20 years depending on your stage of Alzheimer’s. In the early stage of Alzheimer’s  you can still work and drive. In this stage the person may forget familiar places and words. They will have difficulty with coming up with the right name or word.  In the middle stage,it is the longest stage. They can confuse words and get frustrated really easily. They can easily forget personal history,and feel moody more often. In the last stage people can loose the ability to speak with someone,and control movement. They lose awareness of very recent things.

What parts of the brain are effected when you have Alzheimer’s disease:

The parts of your brain that get affected are your frontal lobe,which is your intelligence,and behaviour. Your parietal lobe also gets damaged,which takes care of your language,and also your temporal lobe,which is your memory. This is a diagram of what parts of your brain gets damaged,and shrinks.

Theories reverse Alzheimer’s:

One of the theories is to make beta amyloid therapies to help stop Alzheimer's, that will help kill the beta amyloids which create Alzheimer's disease. However this theory is incorrect,as many clinics have tried and failed. A few theories is that 1: That clinics are trying to kill the wrong amyloid,because the oligomer's (which grow inside of the amyloids') are more toxic. 2: The clinics made it too late,because the patients were in the middle or last stage. 3: The old age makes it hard to stop the plague from clumping. Scientists in UC San Francisco have identified that two cancer drugs can help slow or maybe reverse Alzheimer’s. The 2 drugs were Letrozole,and Irenotican. However,they did little to reduce the tau clumps(tangles). The green is the tau clumps,that barely reduced.

However,mixing letrozole and irinotecan reduced the tau clumps a very little bit,compared to them separately This is a picture after mixing letrozole and irinotecan together,and at the end of the picture you can see it slowly reduced.

Prevention of Alzheimer's:

Studies have shown that people who exercise their brains more often have a less risk of Alzheimer's.  Some examples are  reading,learning a new language, solving  puzzles,and playing strategy games. I also think,based on my research,that eating healthy,and exercising  your brain can help with the prevention of Alzheimer's.

Data

Alzheimer's is a disease that is spreading more often then ever. This is a bar graph showing how much the death rate for Alzheimer's has increased from 2000-2022. This is occurring more often because of poor diet and high blood pressure.  ** ** This is a bar graph showing the age of people older than 65 with Alzheimer's  in 2023. This is because the elderly,typically those older than 70,have more beta amyloid plagues and tau tangles in their brains.

Finally,your risk of Alzheimer's depends on your family history,and your lifestyle choices.

Conclusion:

Focus Question: Can Alzheimer's be reversed by changes in lifestyle or medication?

To conclude,Alzheimer's is a dementia that makes you loose your memory. The most common cause of Alzheimer's is genetics,or if someone in your family has Alzheimer’s. There are 3 stages of Alzheimer's;early,middle,and late. There are also many theories to prevent Alzheimer's,like eating colourful fruits,and eating omega-3. One theory to reverse Alzheimer's was to do beta amyloid therapies,but clinics tried and the theory failed. Throughout my research,I found many ways to prevent Alzheimer's,but not much to cure/reverse Alzheimer’s. Many trials have failed. At the end of my project I came with the conclusion that my hypothesis was wrong,and for now,Alzheimer's can’t be reversed.  Healthy diets can help you prevent Alzheimer's,but it cannot be reversed.

Application

One way to continue the research is to contact a person who is an expert on the topic. Interviewing an expert would give me more information,on the behaviour,causes,and more. I would ask them on their opinion on how to cure Alzheimer's. I believe  my research is important,because in the future,the information,such as the foods that I mentioned that could prevent Alzheimer's,can be used in medication to reverse Alzheimer's. It could warn future generations to be healthy to prevent Alzheimer's.

Citations:

“What is Alzheimer's Disease? Symptoms & Causes | alz.org.” https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-alzheimers.

(“What is Alzheimer's Disease? Symptoms & Causes | alz.org”) https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-causes-and-risk-factors/what-causes-alzheimers-disease

(“What is Alzheimer's Disease? Symptoms & Causes | alz.org”) https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures

(“Areas of the brain affected by Alzheimer's and other dementias”) https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=tp12408

(“Alzheimer's treatment”) https://alzheimerscaregivers.org/2022/12/20/todays-leading-theories-of-alzheimers-disease-and-its-treatment/

(“Can blueberries help with Alzhimers”) https://www.alzdiscovery.org/cognitive-vitality/ratings/blueberries#references-block

(“5 Brain-Boosting Foods That Can Fight Dementia”) https://www.uhhospitals.org/blog/articles/2023/01/5-brain-boosting-foods-that-can-fight-dementia

(“What are Alzheimer's Plaques and Tangles?”) https://www.brightfocus.org/resource/what-are-alzheimers-plaques-and-tangles/

Gadye, Levi. “Do These Two Cancer Drugs Have What It Takes to Beat Alzheimer's?” https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2025/07/430386/do-these-two-cancer-drugs-have-what-it-takes-beat-alzheimers.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my family for their support while doing this project,even in the most difficult times. I would also like to acknowledge my sister, Farwa,for helping me enhance my project throughout the whole project. I would also like to thank my teacher, Mrs.Hadil for helping me go through this project step by step,and making my project successful. I couldn't have finished this project without all of your help and support throughout the whole project. Thank you!