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KNOW THE 10 SIGNS

MEMORY LOSS THAT DISRUPTS DAILY LIFE. One of the most common signs of Alzheimer’s disease, especially in the early stage, is forgetting recently learned information. Others include forgetting important dates or events, asking for the same information over and over, and increasingly needing to rely on aides (e.g., reminder notes or electronic devices) or family members for things they used to handle on their own. What’s a typical age-related change? Sometimes forgetting names or appointments, but remembering them later. 

CHALLENGES IN PLANNING OR SOLVING PROBLEMS. Some people may experience changes in their ability to develop and follow a plan or work with numbers. They may have trouble following a familiar recipe or keeping track of monthly bills. They may have difficulty concentrating and take much longer to do things than they did before. What’s a typical age-related change? Making occasional errors when balancing a checkbook.

DIFFICULTY COMPLETING FAMILIAR TASKS AT HOME, AT WORK OR AT LEISURE. People with Alzheimer’s disease often find it hard to complete daily tasks. Sometimes they may have trouble driving to a familiar location, managing a budget at work or remembering the rules of a favorite game. What’s a typical age-related change? Occasionally needing help to use the settings on a microwave or to record a television show. 

CONFUSION WITH TIME OR PLACE. People with Alzheimer’s can lose track of dates, seasons and the passage of time. They may have trouble understanding something if it is not happening immediately. Sometimes they may forget where they are or how they got there. What’s a typical age-related change? Getting confused about the day of the week but figuring it out later.

TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING VISUAL IMAGES AND SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS. For some people, having vision problems is a sign of Alzheimer’s. They may have difficulty reading, judging distance, and determining color or contrast, which may cause problems with driving. What’s a typical age-related change? Vision changes related to cataracts.

NEW PROBLEMS WITH WORDS IN SPEAKING OR WRITING. People with Alzheimer’s disease may have trouble following or joining a conversation. They may stop in the middle of a conversation and have no idea how to continue or they may repeat themselves. They may struggle with vocabulary, have problems finding the right word or call things by the wrong name (e.g., calling a “watch” a “hand clock”). What’s a typical age-related change? Sometimes having trouble finding the right word.

MISPLACING THINGS AND LOSING THE ABILITY TO RETRACE STEPS. A person with Alzheimer’s may put things in unusual places. They may lose things and be unable to go back over their steps to find them again. Sometimes, they may accuse others of stealing. This may occur more frequently over time. What’s a typical age-related change? Misplacing things from time to time and retracing steps to find them.

DECREASED OR POOR JUDGMENT. People with Alzheimer’s may experience changes in judgment or decision making. For example, they may use poor judgment when dealing with money, giving large amounts to telemarketers. They may pay less attention to grooming or keeping themselves clean. What’s a typical age-related change? Making a bad decision once in a while.

WITHDRAWAL FROM WORK OR SOCIAL ACTIVITIES. A person with Alzheimer’s disease may start to remove themselves from hobbies, social activities, work projects or sports. They may have trouble keeping up with a favorite sports team or remembering how to complete a favorite hobby. They may also avoid being social because of the changes they have experienced. What’s a typical age-related change? Sometimes feeling weary of work, family and social obligations.

CHANGES IN MOOD AND PERSONALITY. The mood and personalities of people with Alzheimer’s can change. They can become confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful or anxious. They may be easily upset at home, at work, with friends or in places where they are out of their comfort zone. What’s a typical age-related change? Developing very specific ways of doing things and becoming irritable when a routine is disrupted. 

SIGNS OF MEMORY LOSS

Gradual decline of memory • Decreased ability to perform routine tasks • Decline in clear thinking • Problems with judgment and reasoning • Confusion, gets lost easily • Depression, anxiety, or hallucinations.

Alzheimer’s Dementia
Most common type of dementia; accounts for an estimated 60 to 80 percent of cases. It has 3 stages: Early Stage, Middle Stage (longest stage), Late Stage.
Symptoms: Difficulty remembering recent conversations, names or events is often an early clinical symptom; apathy and depression are also often early symptoms. Later symptoms include impaired communication, poor judgment, disorientation, confusion, behavior changes and difficulty speaking, swallowing and walking.
Revised guidelines for diagnosing Alzheimer’s were published in 2011 recommending that Alzheimer’s be considered a slowly progressive brain disease that begins well before symptoms emerge.

Vascular Dementia
Previously known as multi-infarct or post-stroke Dementia, Vascular Dementia is less common as a sole cause of Dementia than Alzheimer’s, accounting for about 10 percent of Dementia cases.
Symptoms: Impaired judgment or ability to make decisions, plan or organize is more likely to be the initial symptom, as opposed to the memory loss often associated with the initial symptoms of Alzheimer's. Occurs from blood vessel blockage or damage leading to infarcts (strokes) or bleeding in the brain. The location, number and size of the brain injury determines how the individual's thinking and physical functioning are affected. This affects the gait and this declines faster than memory. 

Dementia with Lewy Body (DLB)
Symptoms: People with dementia with Lewy Body often have memory loss and thinking problems common in Alzheimer's, but are more likely than people with Alzheimer's to have initial or early symptoms such as sleep disturbances, well-formed visual hallucinations, and slowness, gait imbalance or other parkinsonian movement features.

Mixed Dementia
In Mixed Dementia abnormalities linked to more than one cause of Dementia occur simultaneously in the brain. Recent studies suggest that Mixed Dementia is more common than previously thought.

Parkinson's Disease
As Parkinson's disease progresses, it often results in a progressive Dementia similar to Dementia with Lewy Body or Alzheimer's.
Symptoms: Problems with movement are common symptoms of the disease. If dementia develops, symptoms are often similar to Dementia with Lewy bodies. Aphasia is very common and can lead to choking. Referrals to speech therapy for swallow study and diet consistency.  

Frontotemporal Dementia
Includes dementias such as behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD), primary progressive aphasia, Pick's Disease, Corticobasal Degeneration and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.
Symptoms: Typical symptoms include changes in personality and behavior and difficulty with language, lack of inhibition, “inappropriate” behavior. Nerve cells in the front and side regions of the brain are especially affected. Often marked by the person acting in ways that are out of character.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
CJD is the most common human form of a group of rare, fatal brain disorders affecting people and certain other mammals. Variant CJD (“mad cow disease”) occurs in cattle, and has been transmitted to people under certain circumstances.
Symptoms: Rapidly fatal disorder that impairs memory and coordination and causes behavior changes.

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
Symptoms: Symptoms include difficulty walking, memory loss and inability to control urination.
Brain changes: Caused by the buildup of fluid in the brain. Can sometimes be corrected with surgical installation of a shunt in the brain to drain excess fluid.

Huntington’s Disease
Huntington’s disease is a progressive brain disorder caused by a single defective gene on chromosome 4. It is also a genetic disease.
Symptoms: Include abnormal involuntary movements, a severe decline in thinking and reasoning skills, and irritability, depression and other mood changes.

Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome
Korsakoff syndrome is a chronic memory disorder caused by severe deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B-1). The most common cause is alcohol misuse.
Symptoms: Memory problems may be strikingly severe while other thinking and social skills seem relatively unaffected.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a brain condition associated with repeated blows to the head. Also can occur from repeated trauma like falls or anything that can induce a concussion.
Symptoms: Potential signs of CTE are problems with thinking and memory, personality changes, and behavioral changes including aggression and depression. People may not experience potential signs of CTE until years or decades after brain injuries occur. A definitive diagnosis of CTE can only be made after death, when an autopsy can reveal whether the known brain changes of CTE are present.

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