How to Recognise Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease is a degeneration of the brain and associated mental functions, commonly found in the elderly with over half of 85 year olds and older thought to be affected. In Alzheimer's disease the pathology can be seen by viewing brain tissue which is fraught with amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, in a much greater concentration than would be found in the normal brain tissue.

The symptoms of Alzheimer's are similar to that of dementia and differ between the three different stages of Alzheimer's disease. Initially symptoms will not be that apparent but as the disease progresses symptoms will become more and more noticeable.

Stage 1

This is the initial stage and you would expect people in this stage to show some forgetfulness, as well as occasional mood swings. The will be slow to react to events and will not enjoy new challenges instead preferring the familiar. Work can become a problem as people find it hard to organise and plan and may make poor decisions. Routine work which used to take 20 minutes may now take up to an hour or longer to complete. Conversation with the affected individual may become tedious as the same questions are asked over and over again. Additionally the person may start leaving things down and not remembering when they left them. Of course we all do this on an odd occasion, but when it starts happening on a regular basis it is time to worry.

Stage 2

People may be in the second stage for as long as a decade as their symptoms begin to worsen. They can sometimes still carry out basic tasks but complex activities such as preparing large meals will become impossible. Memory loss here is very apparent as they struggle to remember recent goings-on as well as their past. They also have a tendency to mix up events that happened as many as 4 decades earlier with current issues. Many Alzheimer's patients ask for their parents or grandparents who died years earlier, the sad thing being they still believe these people are alive. In saying this they may not recognise all relatives, a particularly distressing issue for those close to the individual. Depression is common in this stage as the patient realises they cannot carry out activities the way they used to.

Stage 3

During this final stage symptoms require that these individuals need constant care as they will not be able to feed themselves. They are also likely to have faecal and urine incontinence which will require them to wear pads. Relatives become strangers and daily conversations are forgotten as soon as they happen. The patient has no idea who they are or who anyone else is. The ability to speak may disappear and the patient will spend the rest of their life slipping in and out of a sleeping state.

Alzheimer's disease is not a pleasant disease for the affected or their family. At present it is currently not curable, but by taking measures such as keeping your brain active, eating a healthy diet, and taking regular exercise you can decrease your chance of developing Alzheimer's disease.