The Science of Aging Well: How Your Beliefs Affect Your Health
A certain amount of forgetfulness can be a natural sign of aging. However, forgetfulness can also be an indicator of the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. How do you determine one from the other?
The Alzheimer’s Association has developed a list of signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s to help you answer that very question. Before we share their list, let’s take a step back.
What Exactly Is Alzheimer’s Disease?
The National Institute on Aging defines Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as “an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually the ability to carry out the simplest tasks.”
In Alzheimer’s disease, plaques develop in the hippocampus, a brain structure that involves memories. These plaques may also develop in other areas of the cerebral cortex that involve thought and decision making.
Other facts concerning AD include:
- Symptoms of Alzheimer’s usually first appear when people are in their mid-60s.
- Many experts believe there are more than five million with Alzheimer’s in the United States.
- Some estimates rank Alzheimer’s disease the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.
- Alzheimer’s is the most common dementia cause among older adults.
- Alzheimer’s disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer who observed an unusual mental illness and changes in a patient’s brain in 1906.
Simple Forgetfulness or Something More Serious
Many people experience forgetfulness. Sometimes forgetfulness indicates something serious, other times it does not. The following signs and symptoms help determine if someone’s forgetfulness may be Alzheimer’s.
Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease
The Alzheimer’s Association states, “If you notice any of the 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s in yourself or someone you know, don’t ignore them. Schedule an appointment with your doctor.”
Memory Loss That Disrupts Daily Life
Have you or a loved one started to:
- Forget recently learned information?
- Forgetting important dates or events?
- Rely heavily on memory aids?
Familiar Tasks Are Now a Challenge to Complete
Have you or a loved one started to find it difficult to:
- Drive to a familiar location?
- Manage a budget at work?
- Remember the rules to a familiar game?
Difficulty with Problem Solving or Planning
Have you or a loved one noticed recent:
- Changes in the ability to develop and follow a plan?
- Changes in ability to work with numbers?
- Difficulty in making a familiar recipe?
- Trouble keeping track of monthly bills?
- Difficulty concentrating?
Spatial and Temporal Confusion
Have you or a loved one started to:
- Forget dates?
- Lose track of seasons?
- Become unaware of the passage of time?
- Forget one’s current location?
- Forget how one arrived at a place?
Confusion Visual and Spatial Relationships
Have you or a loved one noticed recent:
- Difficulty in reading?
- Struggle when judging distance?
- Difficulty determining color or contrast?
Problems with Words
Have you or a loved one started to:
- Find it difficult to follow or join a conversation?
- Stop talking in the middle of a conversation?
- Repeat thoughts?
- Struggle with finding the right word?
- Call things by the wrong name?
Misplacing Things
Have you or a loved one started to:
- Put things in unusual places?
- Lose things?
- Lose the ability to retrace steps to recover lost items?
Decreased or Poor Judgment
Have you or a loved one started to:
- Experience changes in judgment?
- Find decision making increasingly challenging?
- Lose judgement when dealing with money?
- Pay less attention to personal grooming?
Withdrawal from Work or Social Activities
Have you or a loved one started to:
- Stop involvement with hobbies?
- Avoid social activities, work projects, or sports?
- Avoid being social due to perceived changes in oneself?
Mood and Personality Changes
Have you or a loved one started to:
- Feel confused or suspicious?
- Feel depressed, fearful, or anxious?
- Become easily upset?
What to Do If You Detect One of the Above Symptoms
Early detection of a disease is always the best case scenario. Early detection allows for one to:
- Get the maximum benefit from treatments.
- Explore all treatments that may provide symptom relief.
- Maintain independence longer.
- Increase the chances of clinical drug trial involvement.
- Address financial and legal matters.
- Learn about and address potential safety issues.
- Learn about and determine living arrangements.
- Develop support networks.
About Council for Disability Awareness
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