Does Alzheimers disease only affect the left side of the brain?
While some studies suggest that the left hemisphere of the brain is affected more by Alzheimer’s disease pathology, there are just as many other studies claiming the opposite (that the right side of the brain suffers greater damage due to Alzheimer’s pathology). In this respect, Alzheimer’s is an equal opportunity disease – it does not seem to prefer damaging a particular brain hemisphere and in fact causes global brain atrophy (shrinkage). As for particular brain structures impacted, however, Alzheimer’s disease most notably affects the hippocampus, which is involved in memory, and the frontal cortex – both of which are bilateral (i.e., located on both sides) brain regions.
