Signs and Symptoms, Possible Causes, and Potential Treatments of Alzheimer’s Disease
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Alzheimer’s Disease: from Forgetting Keys to Forgetting Major Life Events
Alzheimer’s disease is a severe neurological condition that causes brain cells to die, leading to memory loss and cognitive decline. This medical condition was first described by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and is the most common type of dementia known as Senile Dementia, accounting for roughly 60% to 80% of dementia cases in the United States. It is estimated that this number will triple by 2060, with around 5 million people in the US currently affected by this condition. It usually affects those aged 65 and over, with only 10% of cases occurring in people below this age.
This blog will provide an overview of this serious mental health condition and help you become more aware of your mental health. Here, we will discuss the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
Overview of Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive medical condition that affects the brain. Initially, symptoms are mild but become more severe over time. Common symptoms include memory loss, impulsive or unpredictable behavior, or language problems. One of the main features of Alzheimer’s disease is the presence of tangles in the plague in the brain, as well as a loss of link between neurons, or nerve cells, in the brain. This makes it difficult for information to pass between different brain areas or between muscles or organs and the brain. As the symptoms worsen, it becomes harder for an individual to remember recent events, make arguments, and recognize known people. Eventually, an individual with this medical condition may need full-time assistance.
Do I Have Alzheimer’s Disease?
You can check whether you have this disease or not by cross-checking a list of possible symptoms. As we all know, this mental health condition is a progressive one, meaning that the symptoms may get worse with time. You may have a regular check-up as the symptoms appear gradually, over months or years. If any of the symptoms develop over hours or days, you may need medical help, as it could indicate a stroke. Some of the Alzheimer’s disease symptoms include:
Memory Loss:
It makes it difficult for a person to take any new information and remember information resulting in losing objects, repeating questions or conversations, wandering or getting lost, and forgetting about events or appointments.
Cognitive Deficits:
An individual may experience difficulty performing complex tasks, reasoning, and judgment. It can lead to problems with money or paying bills, making decisions, completing tasks with several stages, or a reduced understanding of safety and risks.
Recognition Problems:
It reduces the ability of an individual to recognize faces or objects. They fail to use essential tools, not because of eyesight problems.
Problems with Spatial Awareness:
It causes difficulty balancing, resulting in trips over, dilemma-oriented clothing, or spilling things more often.
Problems with Reading, Speaking, or Writing:
Alzheimer’s disease makes a person develop difficulties thinking common words, or they keep making spelling, speech, or writing errors.
Behavior or Personality Changes:
It can cause loss of empathy; becoming angry, upset, or worried more than before; loss of motivation or interest for activities one usually enjoys; or obsessive, compulsive, or socially inappropriate behavior.
What Level of Alzheimer’s Disease Am I Dealing With?
Alzheimer’s disease can be mild or severe, and the scale ranges from a calm impairment state to moderate impairment before getting a severe cognitive decline. You can check your level of this mental health condition by learning about the stages of this disease.
Mild Alzheimer’s Disease
In this stage, people develop cognitive difficulties and memory problems, including wandering