Alzheimer's disease revisited

In a previous paper, it was suggested that a relative deficiency of essential fatty acids might play a role in the etiology of sporadic or non-familial Alzheimer's disease. A recent article regarding dementia in the Rotterdam Study reinforces this suggestion. It is also hypothesized that this relative deficiency could facilitate passage of aluminum into the brain, aluminum being increasingly suggested as one of the possible pathogenic factors in AD. It is further suggested that hypomethylation caused by a deficiency of S-adenosylmethionine might also play a role in the etiology of this disease and perhaps even of Parkinson's disease. (C) 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.