5 WARNING Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease
No one wants to face an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
But with Alzheimer’s cases projected to triple in the next 40 years, your risk of developing the condition increases drastically every year.
Prevention is best.
But if you do develop Alzheimer’s, the earlier you get diagnosed, the better your chances of slowing the progression of the disease.
Here are five early warning signs to look out for.
Some of these may seem obvious. Others may seem like typical senior moments.
But when you add them together, they’re something you should talk to your doctor about right away.
- Trouble with language. This involves having trouble finding the word for an object.
- Memory loss. Typically, this involves having trouble storing new memories, while retaining old ones (for example, from childhood). This is due to loss of the part of the brain responsible for storing and retrieving new memories (the hippocampus).
- Learning issues. This is far worse than the “can’t teach an old dog new tricks” mantra. In these cases, a person can be told over and over, but it just doesn’t “stick.”
- Reduced knowledge of semantics. This would be like understating what fruit is, but forgetting many of the various kinds. This occurs due to loss of the temporal region of the brain.
- Changes in behavior. This can include rapid mood swings, increased irritability, and depression. Often the person is not self-aware of the changes.
There are numerous underlying factors involved in the disease, the key ones being loss of neurons, neurofibrillary tangles, and toxic amyloid beta plaques.
Essentially, your brain starts to shrink in key areas related to learning, memory, speech, and behavior… and the brain cells that are left aren’t able to communicate properly because of the gunk and debris that have built up.
Unfortunately, age is the biggest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Every five years after age 65, the number of people living with Alzheimer’s DOUBLES.
Reading an article like this can be scarry.
No one wants to think they could be facing this kind of future. But the quicker you face it, the better your chances of maintaining your brain function longer.
Take a good look at this list and consider if it describes you or a loved one. If so, talk to your doctor right away.
P.S. I’m going to share another early warning sign to watch out for. Read about it, right here.
SOURCE:
Newgen, H. (2022, April 9.) Signs You Have Alzheimer’s Right Now. Eat This, Not That! https://www.eatthis.com/signs-you-have-alzheimers-now/
