Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease

by Michelle Badash, MS [1]

Alzheimer’s disease progresses slowly, and changes take place gradually over time. People can live with Alzheimer’s disease for 3-25 years, although the average duration of the disease is about 8-10 years. In general, changes can be characterized in three phases.

Early Phase: Subtle changes occur, but the problem is sometimes hard to pinpoint. More often, family members recognize these changes rather than the patients themselves. Common changes may include:

Forgetfulness and attempts to hide frequent forgetting
Misplacing things
Getting lost while driving
Loss if interest in hobbies
Difficulty concentrating
Inability to recall words
Decrease in sentence complexity
Problems with mathematical calculations
Getting lost in familiar surroundings
Difficulty with tasks that require fine motor ability, such as putting a key in the keyhole or buttoning a shirt
Difficulty in dealing with daily life tasks, such as managing finances, tending to household tasks, maintaining personal hygiene
Repeating questions and stories
Nonsensical wordy speech
Naming difficulties
Depressed mood

Middle Phase: Impairments in memory and mental [11] functioning become more obvious. Long-term memory may still be intact, but short-term memory fails. Other changes include:

Difficulty sleeping
Becoming less sociable and less aware of the feelings of others
Needing help in making decisions
Needing assistance with bathing, grooming, dressing
Forgetting one’s own past history of personal events
Personality changes, such as sudden mood shifts, anger, worry, or fearfulness

Advanced Phase: Abilities decline dramatically. Changes include:

Inability to use language
Becoming easily disoriented
Incontinence
Walking with a shuffle
Frequent falls
Showing minimal emotional response
Immobility and pain [12]
Weight loss and inability to swallow
Agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, delusions, and mood changes
Difficulty sleeping

References:

Alzheimer’s Association website. Available at: http://www.alz.org/ [13].

National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health website. Available at: http://www.nia.nih.gov/ [14].

Last reviewed April 2007 by Roshni N. Patel, MD [15]

Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical [16] advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health [17] provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical [16] condition.

Links:
[1] http://www.thirdage.com/health-wellness/editorial-staff-and-contributors#MichelleB
[2] http://www.thirdage.com/health-wellness/conditions-indepth-alzheimer’s-disease-0
[3] http://www.thirdage.com/encyclopedia/risk-factors-for-alzheimer’s-disease
[4] http://www.thirdage.com/encyclopedia/diagnosis-of-alzheimer’s-disease
[5] http://www.thirdage.com/encyclopedia/treatments-for-alzheimer’s-disease
[6] http://www.thirdage.com/encyclopedia/screening-for-alzheimer’s-disease
[7] http://www.thirdage.com/encyclopedia/reducing-your-risk-of-alzheimer’s-disease
[8] http://www.thirdage.com/encyclopedia/talking-to-your-healthcare-provider-about-alzheimer’s-disease
[9] http://www.thirdage.com/health-wellness/in-her-own-words-living-with-alzheimer’s-disease
[10] http://www.thirdage.com/encyclopedia/resource-guide-for-alzheimer’s-disease
[11] http://www.thirdage.com/mental-health
[12] http://www.thirdage.com/pain-management
[13] http://www.alz.org/
[14] http://www.nia.nih.gov/
[15] http://www.thirdage.com/health-wellness/ebsco-publishings-medical-review-board-0#Patel
[16] http://www.thirdage.com/medical-care
[17] http://www.thirdage.com/health-wellness