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Final answer:Alzheimer's disease is characterized by amyloid plaque accumulation, neurofibrillary tangles in neurons, serious memory loss, and can feature hallucinations with personality changes. Destruction of brain tissue from small strokes is not a characteristic of Alzheimer's but rather of vascular dementia.Explanation:Alzheimer's disease is characterized by all of the following EXCEPT destruction of brain tissue from small strokes. This characteristic is more commonly associated with vascular dementia rather than Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease does involve the accumulation of beta-amyloid and tau proteins in the brain, serious memory loss, and can include hallucinations with major personality changes. However, the key pathological features of Alzheimer's are amyloid plaques between brain cells, neurofibrillary tangles inside neurons, and overall brain volume shrinkage, particularly in the hippocampus, leading to neuronal death and cognitive decline. These changes are depicted in Figure 11.9.1 and have been extensively described since Alois Alzheimer's initial report in 1911. Additionally, misshapen tau proteins accumulating in the hippocampus are also associated with neuronal dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease....