While aluminum is poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, over time this small amount accumulates in organs, especially the nervous system, where it causes degeneration of cells, especially brain cells.

It has been demonstrated that when even small amounts of aluminum are retained in cells, over time the cellular level can rise to destructive levels. And this aluminum is tightly bound within the tissues, making it very difficult to remove.

Most people assume Alzheimer’s is a genetic disease, but that assumption has been disproven by a series of studies. For example, a Finnish study found that 69 percent of identical twins did not share an incidence of dementia. This is strong evidence that Alzheimer’s has an environmental cause, not genetic.

Studies have also shown that the aluminum level in brain areas affected by Alzheimer’s disease are dramatically higher than unaffected peoples’ brains.

A study by Professor Jay Walton of Texas A&M University confirmed that prior research had clearly demonstrated rising brain aluminum levels as a patient went from a state of mild cognitive impairment to full-blown Alzheimer’s. While it’s true that an APOE4 gene defect can increase a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s, most patients do not have this mutation. APOE4 is an abnormal form of APOE, a gene that normally protects brain cells from neurodegeneration. Antioxidants can help make up for this abnormality.

In 1991, Professors Eva Braak and Heiko Braak published a study in which they examined various Alzheimer’s-affected brains, and found that the disease progressed in stages. In essence, the process moved through the brain. The starting point always appeared to be the entorhinal cortex, which is an entry point from the olfactory nerve connecting the frontal lobe and the hippocampus, which are two of the earlier sites of Alzheimer’s development in the brain.

Even that far back, scientists were seeing progressive movement of the pathology that leads to dementia along neural connections. This implies that whatever it is, Alzheimer’s is passing from neuron to neuron across synapses.