Question: my dad has alzheimers and i was just wondering how do you get it?

Sally Barber answered on 17 Jun 2010:

Alzheimer’s Disease happens when there is an increase in a substance called amyloid beta in the brain. This builds up and causes plaques in the brain which then damage the nerve cells in the brain. You can get Alzheimer’s Disease in two ways. The first is that your body over produces amyloid beta (which causes the plaques) all of your life. The second is your body does not produce enough of the substance which clears amyolid beta out of the body. This can happen because there is a mutation in a gene. There are also other factors which may increase the risk of someone getting this second type of Alzheimer’s disease like having type 2 diabetes. There may be other risk factors which scientists are looking into like low levels of physical activity. I hope this answers your question, please let me know if I can help further.