Spotting the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia can prove to be tricky.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – The early signs of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia are hard to spot as most symptoms are still considered normal signs of old age. When discovered in its initial stages, the disease can be kept under relative control with medication, but such cases are rare because caregivers still can’t differentiate between signs of old age and the symptoms of a neurological disorder.
Doctors recognize Alzheimer’s disease as the main form of dementia. The latter is not a medical condition on its own, as many believe, but rather a multitude of disorders mainly characterized by perception, memory, language, and cognitive impairment.
Until now, more over one hundred types of dementia have been discovered, Alzheimer’s disease remaining the most common form. The brain of the patients suffering from the terrible condition loses its structure and experiences a shortage of a variety of essential chemicals, leaving the affected individuals impaired.
The biggest problem that occurs whenever dementia is diagnosed is the fact that disease manifests itself differently from person to person. Being strongly connected to a chemical imbalance in the brain, both dementia and Alzheimer’s first affect the personality of the patient.
What Are the Early Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease?
For example, a person who always forgot to take out the trash will continue to do that in old age. However, if a senior citizen suddenly starts to forget to take out the trash, then it could be considered one of the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, not a symptom of old age.
Other early signs of Alzheimer’s disease include:
- Mood swings;
- Difficulty in completing simple, everyday tasks;
- Difficulty in solving problems;
- Confusion;
- Trouble processing spatial relations or visual images;
- Trouble in speaking or writing otherwise common words;
- Decreased capability of assessing an ordinary situation;
- Withdrawal from once pleasurable activities.
Doctors do not base their diagnosis only on a couple of episodes of forgetfulness. They also take into consideration the fact that the patient’s symptoms may be caused by vitamin deficiencies, stress, or even depression.
It is important to remember that if you notice that a loved one is displaying any of the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease mentioned above, you should contact their health care provider. Keep in mind that this type of neurological disorders responds to treatment better when diagnosed early.
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