Alzheimer's disease, MRI brain scans
Alzheimer's disease. Array of sagittal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain of a patient aged over 60 with Alzheimer's disease. The front of the brain is at left in each scan. These scans form a series from the left (top left) to the right (bottom right) cerebral hemispheres, showing the cerebral atrophy that has occurred. Alzheimer's is a neurodegenerative disease and a common cause of dementia in the elderly. It is caused by the formation of protein plaques in the brain, which kill surrounding neurons. The cause of these plaques is not known and there is no cure. For the full set of scans, see images C038/8632 to C038/8651.