Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Alzheimer's disease is a rare pathology, characterized by a progressive decline in intelligence. Most often the disease occurs at an older age, however, there are cases of dementia development at a relatively young age, fortunately, this is an extremely rare form. For the reasons for the development of the disease, read this article.
The course of the disease as a rule, each individual patient, however, there are a number of the most common symptoms, which can be judged on the development of Alzheimer's disease.
Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease at an Early Stage
The first symptoms are often confused with age-related changes, which eventually lend themselves to the brain or the influence of stressful situations on the general state of the human body. At an early stage, a marked memory disorder is noted, with time there is irritability, confusion, aggression, frequent and often unexplained fluctuations in insistence, problems with diction.
Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease in Women
According to the results of long-term observations, experts came to the conclusion that Alzheimer's disease is much more common in women than in men, this ratio is 2: 1. The disease is accompanied by a decrease in intellectual abilities, as well as personality disorders, behavioral changes. For women with severe dementia, more closed behavior is typical, they become whiny, with frequent uncontrolled mood swings. In addition, women, more often than men become obsessed with some manic ideas, begin to collect various small things, usually unnecessary things. Care for such patients should be much more thorough and more palpitating, in order to avoid the development of another depression or nervous breakdown.
Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease in Men
A man at any time was considered a support, earner and breadwinners, and when he is trapped by a disease like Alzheimer's, the world around starts to crumble. Symptomatically, dementia in men manifests itself in the form of pronounced personality disorders and behavioral habits. The patient becomes more aggressive, fierce, unrestrained. Against the background of such manifestations of the disease in a man to identify in the early stages is more difficult, since many such behavior can be attributed to the character.
Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease in Children
Despite the fact that dementia is a pathology that most often occurs in the elderly, the disease develops and in children it mainly occurs against the background of other hereditary diseases associated with the work of the brain. The development of the disease is accompanied by the same symptoms as in adulthood: impaired memory and practical skills, confusion, marked irritability, aggressiveness, against this background the level of learning decreases significantly.
Symptoms of Alzheimer's disease at the last stage
For the last, one of the most difficult stages, the patient's complete dependence on others is typical. Against the background of progressive pathology, there is a rapid loss of muscle mass, language westernization, which complicates the pronunciation of articulate words. Patients with Alzheimer's at the last stage can not get out of bed on their own, self-care is completely excluded, the same applies to eating. In addition to physical changes, the psychological state of the patient suffers - marked aggressiveness, apathy, failures in memory of both long time intervals and short ones. Lethal outcome occurs because of the attachment of secondary pathology.
Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease
To date, unfortunately, there is not yet one single test, the testimony of which can accurately tell about the development of Alzheimer's disease. The diagnosis of the disease should be comprehensive, including a history of life, a family history, neurological diagnosis, cognitive tests for assessing the state of memory and thinking in general, blood tests and neuroimaging.