First signs of Alzheimer's disease: what should you watch out for?

If your mother continues to misplace her keys or if your grandfather consistently calls you by your sister's name, your mind can automatically move on. Alzheimer's disease. But are these types of symptoms really early signs of Alzheimer's disease or do they present differently at the initial stages?

In the early days of Alzheimer's disease, people have no symptoms.

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder that occurs in phases, slowly destroying memory, cognitive functions, and possibly many physical abilities. The condition occurs in five different steps, starting with what is called preclinical Alzheimer's disease. It is at this point that a person does not show any sign of the disease but that his brain undergoes modifications that will eventually cause symptoms.

Meanwhile, protein deposits in the brain form abnormal clusters that interrupt the way brain cells communicate, the Mayo Clinic The brain is also starting to create entangled bundles of fibers needed to transport vital brain materials such as nutrients. These changes mean that healthy neurons stop functioning, lose connection with other neurons, and die, as the case may be. National Institute on Aging (NIA).

Many scientists are not yet familiar with Alzheimer's disease, but it is thought that these brain damage can begin 10 years or more before the onset of symptoms. Mayo Clinic.

It may seem that memory problems are the first sign of Alzheimer's disease. This may be the case, but many sufferers initially have problems with other cognitive functions.

The second phase of Alzheimer's – but the first one where people have symptoms – is known as mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease, Mayo Clinic Explain

Signs of this often include problems in finding the right words, problems dealing accurately with visual or spatial information, and altered reasoning or judgment, NIA said. However, at this stage, it is also possible to have memory loss and be unable to remember things such as recent discussions or upcoming appointments that have been made recently. Mayo Clinic said.

"These [symptoms] can be easy to miss or amortize ", Scott Kaiser, MD, a family physician and geriatrician at Saint John's Providence Health Center in Santa Monica, California, told SELF that at this stage they were not serious enough to affect a person's daily life.

As the disease progresses to "mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease," when people are generally diagnosed, the symptoms become more varied and more intense.

"We're looking for more consistent trends in terms of worsening the situation over a shorter period of time," says Ian M. Grant, neurology behavioral neurologist at Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. SOI.

For example, someone might start asking the same questions about something they just learned because they constantly forget the answer, Mayo Clinic said. More serious issues related to problem solving and decision making can lead to a more difficult time with important tasks such as keeping a checkbook or keeping a budget. People may also begin to feel less and less familiar with their surroundings and walk around in search of a more recognizable, even lost place.

It is also the moment when personality changes can begin to appear, the Mayo Clinic said. A person with Alzheimer's could live longer than anxiety or anger, for example.

Again, many experts still do not understand Alzheimer's, but the reason for these different symptoms probably depends on the damage to a person's brain, says Dr. Kaiser. For example, if someone has frontal lobe damage, which personality control among other things, they may experience irritability, mood changes and difficulty regulating their behavior, he says. Visual and spatial problems may be due to the illness that has accumulated in the occipital lobe, which is important for the treatment of vision, says Dr. Grant.

If you think that one of your loved ones is showing the first signs of Alzheimer's disease, it is important to consult a doctor as soon as possible.

Being examined can relieve a lot of stress and identify any underlying problem, non-Alzheimer's, that could be causing the symptoms. The symptoms may be due to something potentially reversible. For example, older people are at a higher risk of subdural hematoma, which is brain bleeding that can occur after a fall. Mayo Clinic said.

If the symptoms are really due to Alzheimer's disease, an appropriate diagnosis can help a person start treatment as quickly as possible, which is really essential for this condition.

Several drugs have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. They can even help slow the progression of the disease, NIA said. The drugs act by acting on the neurotransmitters, the chemicals that transmit messages between neurons, and can help reduce the symptoms, the NIA said. However, they can not offer a cure.

Many ongoing clinical trials are also underway in the search for promising Alzheimer's treatments, the NIA explains Many focus on the early stages of the disease, so it's the perfect time to start showing interest in participation.

Finally, getting an Alzheimer's diagnosis as early as possible is essential because it allows a person to put their affairs in order and offer any help they may need, says Dr. Grant. This will usually help them plan how to make the most of their time. It can be difficult to think about this for a loved one, let alone help him do it, but it gets harder the longer you wait.

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