Alzheimers Signs and Symptoms

Most Common Signs and Symptoms

One of the most common of the early Alzheimers signs and symptoms is memory loss, forgetting information that has been recently learned. While it can be normal to forget appointments, names or telephone numbers, individuals with dementia have more severe deficits in memory.

If you or a loved one often forgets dates and places without recalling them later, you may be experiencing one of the early Alzheimer's signs and symptoms. Alzheimer's disease is a fatal brain disorder that occurs most often in seniors over the age of 60.
It is a slow, progressive disease, causing physical damage to the brain, from which an individual cannot recover. Attention to this debilitating illness increased with former President Ronald Reagan's disclosure that he suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

Early Stages

Early Alzheimer's signs and symptoms are often dismissed as part of growing old. In the beginning stages, Alzheimer's disease manifests itself with seemingly minor episodes of short-term memory loss. An individual may forget a name or misplace objects. He may have difficulty reading or have issues with depth perception.

The difference between Alzheimer's disease and normal short-term memory lapses lies in the ability to recall the forgotten information later.
A normal, healthy senior may later remember where she placed her glasses or the TV remote control. To a person suffering from Alzheimer's disease, this information is lost and his steps cannot be retraced.

Other behavior changes are common among the Alzheimers signs and symptoms. An individual with Alzheimer's may forget how to complete simple and familiar tasks. Alzheimer's disease may cause a person to forget how to prepare a meal or use a household appliance.
His frustration level may increase, causing him to set aside once favorite hobbies and activities. He may avoid social contact as he struggles to understand his episodes of memory loss.

An Alzheimer patient may find it difficult to learn new concepts or plan activities. Normal conversation becomes complicated as he struggles to remember words or calls objects by their wrong name.

Other symptoms pose serious risks for Alzheimer's sufferers. Poor judgment skills may cause an individual to make bad choices. He may wander off with little regard to his personal safety.
Symptoms worsen as the mental abilities decline.

Advanced Stages

Eventually, the disease will impair basic life functions. Alzheimers signs and symptoms in advanced stages:

• an individual may lose bladder control.
• He may become easily disoriented,
• putting him at risk for potentially fatal falls.

Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease

If your loved one is showing early Alzheimers signs and symptoms, make an appointment with a doctor for a definitive diagnosis.

In order to arrive at a diagnosis of Alzheimers, your doctor will gather family history information, order medical tests, and estimate your memory loss using more in-depth neuropsychological testing to determine the severity of symptoms. This type of testing can help detect Alzheimer's disease in its early stages even if you've only noticed minor episodes of memory loss. The most important information relates to past and present functioning.

Classic patterns not only eliminate other causes, but also distinguish Alzheimer’s from other forms of dementia. The following criteria must be present to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease:

• Significant memory problems
  in immediate recall, short term, or long term memory
• Significant thinking deficits
  in at least one of four areas, including expressing or comprehending language; identifying familiar objects through the senses; poor coordination, gate, or muscle function; and the executive functions of planning, ordering, and making judgments
• Decline severe enough
  to interfere with relationships and or work performance
• Symptoms appear gradually
  and become steadily worse over time
• Other causes are ruled out
  memory and cognitive symptoms are not the result of another medical condition or disease

Advanced testing such as an MRI or CT scan will pinpoint any physical brain damage that may have already occurred.

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