International Journal of Science, Engineering and TechnologyAuthors: Emin Taner ELMAS
Abstract: This study examines neurodegenerative diseases, primarily Alzheimer's disease, but also Parkinson's and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), within the framework of thermodynamics, physics, and systems theory, going beyond classical biomedical approaches. Neurodegenerative processes are interpreted as decreased energy efficiency, increased entropy production, and disruption of phase coherence between neuronal networks. In this context, Alzheimer's disease is modeled as an accelerated loss of order process in an out-of-equilibrium open biological system. In classical thermodynamics, systems are classified as isolated, closed, and open systems. The human brain, when evaluated in terms of energy and matter exchange, clearly has the characteristics of an open system. It constantly takes glucose and oxygen from the environment, produces heat as a result of metabolic processes, and processes information. This approach is mathematically grounded using dissipative structure theory, the free energy principle, and oscillator synchronization models. Neurodegenerative diseases are among the most complex and multifaceted health problems faced by modern medicine. Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) are clinically irreversible diseases characterized by progressive cellular destruction in the nervous system, but theoretically still not fully understood. In the current literature, these diseases are mostly addressed from a biochemical, genetic, and molecular biology perspective; protein aggregation, neurotransmitter deficiencies, and disruptions in cellular signaling pathways are presented as the basic explanatory mechanisms. However, these approaches are insufficient to explain why diseases progress at a certain rate, why they show different courses in different individuals, and why symptomatic improvements can be observed with certain environmental or sensory stimuli. At this point, it is necessary to consider the brain not only as a biochemical structure but also as a physical system that processes energy, generates waves, carries information, and is constantly interacting with its environment. The main motivation of this study is to reinterpret neurodegenerative diseases in the context of thermodynamics, statistical physics, and wave mechanics, and in particular to model Alzheimer's disease as a non-equilibrium, overt system disorder. This approach suggests that the disease is not only cellular destruction but also a process of loss of energy efficiency, increased entropy production, and disruption of neural resonance. [1], [2], [3].
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18492078
