Alzheimer's disease

May is Older Americans Month and this article discusses a common health problem of older Americans called Alzheimer's disease, characterized by memory loss.  Everyone has occasional lapses in memory and it is normal to forget the names of people whom you rarely see. It is however not a normal part of aging to forget the names of familiar people and objects.
What is Alzheimer's disease?  It is a progressive degenerative brain disease that causes more than simple forgetfulness. It may start with slight memory loss and confusion and eventually lead to irreversible mental impairment that destroys a person's ability to remember, reason, learn and imagine. The causes of Alzheimer's are poorly understood, but it is known to damage and kills brain cells
Common signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease may include:
1. Increasing and persistent forgetfulness. At onset, Alzheimer's disease is marked by periods of forgetfulness, especially of recent events or simple directions. What begins as mild forgetfulness persists and worsens. People with Alzheimer's may repeat things and forget conversations or appointments. They routinely misplace things, often putting them in illogical locations. They frequently forget names, and eventually forget the names of family members and everyday objects.
2. Difficulties with abstract thinking. People with Alzheimer's may initially have trouble balancing their checkbook, a problem that progresses to trouble recognizing and dealing with numbers.
3. Difficulty finding the right word. It may be a challenge for those with Alzheimer's to find the right words to express thoughts or even follow conversations. Eventually, reading and writing also are affected. 4. Disorientation. People with Alzheimer's often lose their sense of time and dates, and may find themselves lost in familiar surroundings.
5. Loss of judgment. Solving everyday problems, such as knowing what to do if food on the stove is burning, becomes increasingly difficult, eventually impossible. Alzheimer's is characterized by greater difficulty in doing things that require planning, decision-making and judgment.
6. Difficulty performing familiar tasks. Once-routine tasks that require sequential steps, such as cooking, become a struggle as the disease progresses. Eventually, people with advanced Alzheimer's may forget how to do even the most basic things.
7. Personality changes. People with Alzheimer's may exhibit mood swings. They may express distrust in others, show increased stubbornness and withdraw socially. Early in the disease process, this may be a response to the frustration they feel as they notice uncontrollable changes in their memory. Depression often coexists with Alzheimer's disease. Restlessness is also a common sign. As the disease progresses, people with Alzheimer's may become anxious or aggressive and behave inappropriately.
How soon can Alzheimer's disease be diagnosed? Symptoms usually progress slowly and so diagnosis is often delayed. People developing the condition may be frighteningly aware of their problems, but careful to keep them hidden and refuse to see a health care provider. As a result, even their families may fail to see what's going on. When the signs and symptoms become too obvious to miss, those closest to the person often realize that similar but less severe difficulties have been present for years.
The stages of the disease's course varies from person to person and eight years is the average length of time from diagnosis of Alzheimer's to death. Survival begins to decline three years after diagnosis, but some people live more than a decade with the disease.
For questions about this article, contact Dr. Youmasu J. Siewe, OSU Cooperative Extension Health Education Specialist at 405 744 6824.