Alzheimer’s disease

Symptoms and causes

Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disease that affects memory, behavior, and thinking. Over time, the symptoms become severe enough to affect the performance of everyday tasks in affected individuals.

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease

The most common symptoms are forgetting recent events and difficulties remembering newly learned information. The symptoms of dementia gradually worsen over time. In the early stages of the disease, memory loss is mild, but in the later stage some patients lose the ability to hold conversations and perform everyday tasks.

As we age, the brain changes. Most people sometimes notice slowed thinking or occasional memory problems. However, severe memory loss and confusion may be a sign that brain cells are deteriorating. As the disease progresses, serious problems occur, including disorientation, mood changes, unfounded suspicions about family, friends, or caregivers, and difficulties with speech and swallowing.

Changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease lead to problems that include:

Memory

It is normal to forget the name of an acquaintance or where we put the keys, but memory loss caused by Alzheimer’s persists and worsens over time.

Affected individuals may:

Repeat questions over and over again
Forget conversations and events
Forget where they put things
Get lost in familiar places
Forget the names of family members and everyday objects

Thinking

Alzheimer’s disease causes difficulty concentrating, especially when calculating with numbers. It can be challenging to manage finances and pay bills.

Decision-making

The ability to make decisions in everyday situations decreases. For example, the person does not dress appropriately for the weather.

Performing familiar tasks

Cooking everyday meals and ironing become a challenge as the disease progresses. People with advanced disease forget how to perform basic tasks such as bathing and dressing.

Changes in personality

Changes in the brain caused by Alzheimer’s affect mood and behavior. Problems include:

• Depression
• Apathy
• Mood changes
• Mistrust
• Aggressiveness
• Delusions (believing that something has been stolen)

Causes of Alzheimer’s disease

It is assumed that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by a combination of genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors that affect the brain. Research also shows that proteins in the brain do not function normally and disrupt the work of neurons, which gradually deteriorate due to the accumulation of certain proteins in the brain (beta-amyloid and tau protein). The process most often begins years before the first symptoms, in the part of the brain responsible for memory.

Diagnostics

Brain imaging and a neurologist examination will help you with the diagnosis and the exclusion of other conditions, such as bleeding, brain tumors, or stroke. The most commonly used brain imaging techniques are: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) as well as FDG PET.

Treatment

There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Existing medications cannot completely prevent the progression of the disease, but they can temporarily slow the worsening of dementia symptoms. It is very important to start treatment as early as possible. The medicines used today are called anti-dementia drugs. They help maintain intellectual abilities for as long as possible and slow the deterioration of the affected person’s general condition. Diagnostic methods and interventions improve over time, and treatment options and support from the environment significantly improve quality of life. With a timely diagnosis and the start of treatment, affected individuals remain self-sufficient and independent from family members for longer!