Question

Alzheimer’s disease in human is associated with the deficiency of
A. Glutamic acid
B. Acetylcholine
C. Gamma aminobutyric acid
D. Dopamine

Answer 1

Hint: Neurotransmitters are generally referred to as chemical messengers that transmit messages between neurons, or neurons to muscles.

Complete answer:
The deficiency of acetylcholine in humans causes Alzheimer’s disease. It is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that typically starts slowly and gradually degenerates over time. The most common symptom of this disease involves difficulty in remembering recent events. In the brain of Alzheimer’s patients, there is widespread degeneration and damage to the hippocampus. Hippocampus is a part of the brain essential to memory formation, and the production of new neurons.

Acetylcholine and its function:
- It is a neurotransmitter that is essential for processing memory and learning. In Alzheimer’s disease, the level of acetylcholine reduces in the brain of patients.
- Acetylcholine plays an important role in the peripheral nervous system, where it is released by motor neurons and neurons of the autonomic nervous system.
- It also plays an important role in the central nervous system where it maintains the cognitive function. Damage in the cholinergic neurons of the CNS leads to Alzheimer’s disease.
- The cholinergic neurons have various functions in the brain such as playing an important role in arousal, attention, memory, and motivation.

So, the correct answer is ‘Acetylcholine’.

Note: Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are utilized to reduce the rate at which acetylcholine is degraded thus increasing the concentration of acetylcholine in the brain and battling the loss of acetylcholine caused by the death of cholinergic neurons.