Final answer:
Alzheimer's disease is primarily associated with the deterioration of neurons that produce acetylcholine, leading to current treatments aiming to increase acetylcholine neurotransmission.
Step-by-step explanation:
Alzheimer's disease is most closely linked to the deterioration of neurons that produce acetylcholine. This condition features a decrease in the activity of cholinergic neurons, which are cells in the brain that use acetylcholine as their neurotransmitter.
Current treatments for Alzheimer's disease often target this aspect by increasing acetylcholine neurotransmission, usually by inhibiting the enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft.
Additionally, the disease is characterized by the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, which are different pathological hallmarks compared to other neurotransmitters such as dopamine, epinephrine, endorphins, or glutamate.
While glutamate and tau proteins play a role in the disease pathology, the direct link to acetylcholine-producing neuron deterioration is most prominent.