Alzheimer's disease attacks nerve cells in several regions of the brain

A. Cerebral Cortex:

Involved in conscious thought and language.

B. Basal forebrain:

Has large numbers of neurons containing acetylcholine, a chemical important in memory and learning.

C. Hippocampus: (the dark spiral shape seen in the middle)

Essential to memory storage.

Hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease include neuritic plaques, (outside neurons), and neurofibrillary tangles (inside neurons).

After reading the above information, I contacted ADEAR and asked for more specific info concerning the entrohinal cortex since it was something I had never heard of. What follows is their description.

The last sentence however, is my own comment.

**The Entorhinal Cortex is a very small area located next to the hippocampus and is thought to be like a way-station. In otherwords, after memories are formed, it must pass through the entorhinal cortex to get to the hippocampus where the memory is stored.**

Which MAY explain why the hippocampus is one of the first areas to be affected by Alzheimer's.