I wish I had more time to follow up on this but I'll write what I can think of. Your core question is a good one and fundamentally raises the question of causa

I wish I had more time to follow up on this but I'll write what I can think of. Your core question is a good one and fundamentally raises the question of causality (which came first, the A-beta or Alzheimer's disease, AD? See ref. 1 for a 'simple' discussion). Interesting evidence comes from people with genetic mutations that decrease the levels of the precursor to A-beta (the protein associated with Alzheimer's plaques). People with these mutations are less likely to develop AD, suggesting that A-beta is related to the root cause of AD. The OP supports this evidence, as removing A-beta plaques ameliorates some memory loss. As a final, unrelated note, I don't know much dermatology but I haven't gotten the sense that our response to uroshiol is considered protective. Unlike A-beta, uroshiol is directly causative of its associated clinical symptoms[3]. 1. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/basics/causes/con-20023871 http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-dis... 2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22801501 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22801501 3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC294319/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC294319/