Health Conditions

What are the symptoms?

Simple day-to-day tasks such as paying bills, picking up groceries, and using the telephone become impossible for the person who has advanced Alzheimer's disease. People with this illness may eventually lose their ability to recognize family and friends and often become unable to care for themselves. Some symptoms of Alzheimer's disease include the following:

• Loss of memory
• Impairment of reasoning and thinking skills
• Increased irritability
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Frustration
• Impaired judgment or concentration
• Wandering
• Suspiciousness or paranoia
• Delusions
• Disruptive behavior
• Hallucinations
• Aggression
• Agitation

During the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease, mild forgetfulness is typical. Anxiety and depression also commonly occur at an early stage of Alzheimer's disease.

The next stage is usually marked by poor concentration, trouble with speech and language, and wandering. Later, memory problems become more severe. Many people who have Alzheimer's disease deny the significance of their symptoms. As the disease advances, they may need help with daily activities, such as food preparation and bathing.

In the final stages, they can become incapacitated and disoriented to the point of not knowing their own name and not recognizing loved ones.

Unlike a stroke, where changes occur within minutes or hours, the mental changes seen with Alzheimer's disease progress over an average of 8 to 10 years from the time the symptoms first appear. The disease has, however, been known to progress over a period of 20 years. How quickly these changes occur varies from person to person. Patients may be able to hide symptoms by becoming withdrawn and less social. It is important to make sure that a person's decline in mental function is not due to something else. Other causes for change in mental status include the following:

• Medications
• Infection
• Depression
• Alcohol abuse
• Liver or kidney disease
• Heart or circulatory problems
• Hypothyroidism - a deficiency of the thyroid secretion
• Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency
• Tumors

An early and accurate diagnosis provides additional time to address legal, financial, and medical issues that can occur during the course of the disease. Early diagnosis may provide an opportunity to treat Alzheimer's disease with medications at an initial stage and slow its rate of development.