Alzheimer's signs and Symptoms

Alzheimer’s is a degenerative mental disease that destroys memory and other significant mental functions. While there is a treatment for this disease, it cannot be cured. Instead, it is managed with a lot of care, support, and medication. It is a type of dementia that affects your thinking, the way you behave and it accounts for more than 60pc of the dementia cases.

It is also hereditary meaning, the chances of getting the disease if a close relative had it is very high. This disease can last for years, as the disease progresses slowly. There are symptoms that can lead one to believe they are at the risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease. The numbers are very high now, with 6.8 million people in the US in 2013 diagnosed with dementia 5 million had Alzheimer’s. By the time it is 2050, these numbers are expected to be double.

This disease is formed when plaques containing beta-amyloid forms in the brain. As symptoms get worse, those affected find it harder to recall events, names, and people. Eventually, the person with Alzheimer’s will need full-time care to help them do even the most basic things such as taking a bath and preparing food. It is an emotionally exhaustive disease that takes a toll on both the patient and supportive friends and family, who have no way of changing their loved one’s fate.

Some of the symptoms to look out for include, the reduced ability to remember questions, conversation and misplacing belongings. Most will then start to forget appointments they made, common routes like their way home or to their favorite coffee shop. They also start having a poor understanding of safety risks. They are unable to manage their finances, make poor decisions which could be completely out of their character and they are unable to plan complex activities and or events.

There are also changes in personality, which may be subtle at first. However, as the disease progresses they can become major. This may look like a loss of empathy for others, having a compulsive or obsessive behavior, and several mood changes. A lack of interest, motivation or social withdrawal which could be the beginning of the depression. Also having a lack of language skills to express yourself could be an early symptom. If you fear that you may be getting Alzheimer’s, it would be best to seek medical attention to address your concerns, to know how to proceed in the future.