Page Twelve
Chapter
4
Early
Warning Signs of Alzheimer's Disease
The development of
Alzheimer’s disease
is gradual and insidious. In fact,
it is difficult to pinpoint the time it
actually begins. But researchers have estimated
that the average life
expectancy after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis is 10 years from the
onset of
symptoms.
During the first two
years, the victim
may maintain a high degree of
independence. In the next three years she may
still perform most daily living skills,
but will require increasing
amounts of
supervision. In the last five years the victim
will require more and more
assistance until becoming totally dependent for dressing,
bathing and
feeding.
(Glomstad, 2004)
Most people associate
Alzheimer’s disease
with memory impairment. In fact,
many of the circulating jokes make fun of
memory difficulties and old age as though
they go hand in hand.
However, the
disease involves much more than memory difficulties.
The Alzheimer’s
Association has developed the following checklist on the warning
signs
of
Alzheimer’s
disease. (http://www.alz.org/espanol_warningsigns.asp)
- Memory loss of recently learned information.
- Difficulty performing familiar tasks such as preparing a meal or
using the
television remote control.
- Problems with language- often forgetting simple words or making
substitutions
such as "Where is that thing to clean the teeth?"
- Disorientation to time and place- such as getting lost on one's
own street.
- Poor or decreased judgment- such as wearing shorts in winter and
giving money away.
- Problems with abstract thinking- such as to balance a check book.
- Misplacing things- putting things in unusual places such as the
iron in the freezer.
- Changes in mood or behavior- such as rapid mood swings from calm
to tears to
anger for no apparent reason.
- Changes in personality- maybe becoming extremely confused,
suspicious, fearful,
or dependent on a family member.
- Loss of initiative- may become very passive, sitting in front of
the television for hours,
sleeping more than usual and not
wanting to
do the usual activities.
The early warning
signs of
Alzheimer’s disease help family members to seek a diagnosis.
But what
about
individuals who have a Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) (also called
Age-Associated Memory Impairment and Benign Senescent Forgetfulness)?
These
individuals
have memory problems, while maintaining intact reasoning
and
judgment. Researchers at the
Mayo Clinic are studying treatment options such as
medication that will prevent or delay the
rate of progression from MCI
to
dementia.
“Most
(but not all) patients with MCI develop
a progressive decline in their thinking
abilities over time, and
Alzheimer’s disease is usually the underlying cause.”
(http://www.mayoclinic.org/mild-cognitive-impairment/index.html)
Brain
researchers are also studying new techniques to
diagnose Alzheimer’s disease before
clinical symptoms even appear.
They
have been using Magnetic
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