AD: Signs and Symptoms

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a disease of old people generally. It increases gradually.

Cause

Certain chemical reactions take place in the brain that shrinks the brain cells. Not in all cases it works but in many it is true.

The exact cause of the disease is not known. People who smoke, have high blood pressure and high cholesterol are at high risk of getting this disease. This is basically an age related disease.

Symptoms

The very basic symptom could be forgetfulness i.e. it affects that part of the brain that controls memory, thought and language.

The person would forget the daily routine. They forget to eat and where to go. They may blame people for stealing. Sleep also gets disturbed; some remain awake at night and sleep in the morning.

If the treatment is not done on time, things can become worse. People can scream and even forget themselves.

Stages

There are three stages of the disease namely; early stage, middle stage and the late stage.

In the early stage the family members recognize the disease and confuse with the age related problem. As the disease progress symptoms become worse like forgetting day to day routine.

In the last stage the person has difficulty in eating. He can not recognize the family remembers and remains confined to bed or wheel chair.

Warning Signs

The warning signs of the disease could be memory loss, problem with doing familiar things, personality or mood changes, language problem, abstract thinking impairment, misplacing things and judgment problem.

Diagnosis

If any of these symptoms are there in your family member, do not wait consult the doctor. There are some tests to confirm the Alzheimer Disease.

The caretaker with the patient can judge the disease by noticing the mental and physical state of the patient. Brain autopsy is the only way of confirming the disease.