Similarly, someone with a higher level of education may achieve a higher score, but still have dementia. These tests can therefore help doctors work out what's happening, but they should never be used by themselves to diagnose dementia. To rule out other possible causes of your symptoms and look for possible signs of damage caused by Alzheimer's disease, your specialist may recommend having a brain scan.
Read more about tests for diagnosing dementia. It may take several appointments and tests over many months before a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease can be confirmed, although often it may be diagnosed more quickly than this. It takes time to adapt to a diagnosis of dementia, for both you and your family. Some people find it helpful to seek information and plan for the future, but others may need a longer period to process the news.
It might help to talk things through with family and friends, and to seek support from the Alzheimer's Society. As Alzheimer's disease is a progressive illness, the weeks to months after a diagnosis are often a good time to think about legal, financial and healthcare matters for the future.
Read more about what to do if you have just been diagnosed with dementia. Page last reviewed: 05 July Next review due: 05 July Seeing a GP Memory problems are not just caused by dementia — they can also be caused by: depression or anxiety stress medicines alcohol or drugs other health problems — such as hormonal disturbances or nutritional deficiencies Read about common causes of memory loss.
Referral to a specialist If a GP is unsure about whether you have Alzheimer's disease, they may refer you to a specialist, such as: a psychiatrist usually called an old age psychiatrist an elderly care physician sometimes called a geriatrician a neurologist an expert in treating conditions that affect the brain and nervous system The specialist may be based in a memory clinic alongside other professionals who are experts in diagnosing, caring for and advising people with dementia and their families.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia — a continuous decline in thinking, behavioral and social skills that affects a person's ability to function independently. Approximately 5. The early signs of the disease include forgetting recent events or conversations. As the disease progresses, a person with Alzheimer's disease will develop severe memory impairment and lose the ability to carry out everyday tasks.
Medications may temporarily improve or slow progression of symptoms. These treatments can sometimes help people with Alzheimer's disease maximize function and maintain independence for a time. Different programs and services can help support people with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers. There is no treatment that cures Alzheimer's disease or alters the disease process in the brain. In advanced stages of the disease, complications from severe loss of brain function — such as dehydration, malnutrition or infection — result in death.
Memory loss is the key symptom of Alzheimer's disease. Early signs include difficulty remembering recent events or conversations. As the disease progresses, memory impairments worsen and other symptoms develop. At first, a person with Alzheimer's disease may be aware of having difficulty remembering things and organizing thoughts.
A family member or friend may be more likely to notice how the symptoms worsen. Everyone has occasional memory lapses, but the memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease persists and worsens, affecting the ability to function at work or at home. Alzheimer's disease causes difficulty concentrating and thinking, especially about abstract concepts such as numbers.
Multitasking is especially difficult, and it may be challenging to manage finances, balance checkbooks and pay bills on time. Eventually, a person with Alzheimer's may be unable to recognize and deal with numbers.
Alzheimer's causes a decline in the ability to make reasonable decisions and judgments in everyday situations. For example, a person may make poor or uncharacteristic choices in social interactions or wear clothes that are inappropriate for the weather. It may be more difficult to respond effectively to everyday problems, such as food burning on the stove or unexpected driving situations. Once-routine activities that require sequential steps, such as planning and cooking a meal or playing a favorite game, become a struggle as the disease progresses.
Eventually, people with advanced Alzheimer's often forget how to perform basic tasks such as dressing and bathing. Brain changes that occur in Alzheimer's disease can affect moods and behaviors.
Problems may include the following:. Many important skills are preserved for longer periods even while symptoms worsen. Preserved skills may include reading or listening to books, telling stories and reminiscing, singing, listening to music, dancing, drawing, or doing crafts.
These skills may be preserved longer because they are controlled by parts of the brain affected later in the course of the disease. A number of conditions, including treatable conditions, can result in memory loss or other dementia symptoms. If you are concerned about your memory or other thinking skills, talk to your doctor for a thorough assessment and diagnosis.
If you are concerned about thinking skills you observe in a family member or friend, talk about your concerns and ask about going together to a doctor's appointment. The exact causes of Alzheimer's disease aren't fully understood. But at a basic level, brain proteins fail to function normally, which disrupts the work of brain cells neurons and triggers a series of toxic events.
Neurons are damaged, lose connections to each other and eventually die. Scientists believe that for most people, Alzheimer's disease is caused by a combination of genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors that affect the brain over time. These rare occurrences usually result in disease onset in middle age.
The damage most often starts in the region of the brain that controls memory, but the process begins years before the first symptoms. The loss of neurons spreads in a somewhat predictable pattern to other regions of the brains. By the late stage of the disease, the brain has shrunk significantly.
Researchers trying to understand the cause of Alzheimer's disease are focused on the role of two proteins:. Increasing age is the greatest known risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's is not a part of normal aging, but as you grow older the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease increases. One study, for example, found that annually there were four new diagnoses per 1, people ages 65 to 74, 32 new diagnoses per 1, people ages 75 to 84, and 76 new diagnoses per 1, people age 85 and older. Your risk of developing Alzheimer's is somewhat higher if a first-degree relative — your parent or sibling — has the disease.
Most genetic mechanisms of Alzheimer's among families remain largely unexplained, and the genetic factors are likely complex. Scientists have identified rare changes mutations in three genes that virtually guarantee a person who inherits one of them will develop Alzheimer's. Many people with Down syndrome develop Alzheimer's disease. This is likely related to having three copies of chromosome 21 — and subsequently three copies of the gene for the protein that leads to the creation of beta-amyloid.
Signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's tend to appear 10 to 20 years earlier in people with Down syndrome than they do for the general population.
There appears to be little difference in risk between men and women, but, overall, there are more women with the disease because they generally live longer than men.
Mild cognitive impairment MCI is a decline in memory or other thinking skills that is greater than normal for a person's age, but the decline doesn't prevent a person from functioning in social or work environments.
People who have MCI have a significant risk of developing dementia. When the primary MCI deficit is memory, the condition is more likely to progress to dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. A diagnosis of MCI encourages a greater focus on healthy lifestyle changes, developing strategies to make up for memory loss and scheduling regular doctor appointments to monitor symptoms. People who've had a severe head trauma have a greater risk of Alzheimer's disease.
Several large studies found that in people age 50 years or older who had a traumatic brain injury TBI , the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease increased. However, other recent estimates suggest that it may be the third leading cause of death, just behind heart disease and cancer. Memory loss is a key feature, and this tends to be one of the first symptoms to develop.
The symptoms appear gradually, over months or years. If they develop over hours or days, a person may require medical attention, as this could indicate a stroke. The scale ranges from a state of mild impairment, through to moderate impairment, before eventually reaching severe cognitive decline. This can lead to the following symptoms:. This can lead to:. Many people with this condition are in their 40s or 50s. In many cases, doctors do not know why younger people develop this condition.
Several rare genes can cause the condition. Dementia is an umbrella term for a range of conditions that involve a loss of cognitive functioning. It involves plaques and tangles forming in the brain. Symptoms start gradually and are most likely to include a decline in cognitive function and language ability.
A person can have more than one type of dementia. If a doctor suspects the presence of the condition, they will ask the person — and sometimes their family or caregivers — about their symptoms, experiences, and medical history. A number of assessment tools are available to assess cognitive function. Testing for relevant genes early could indicate the likelihood of someone having or developing the condition. However, the test is controversial, and the results are not entirely reliable.
It is not possible to reverse the death of brain cells. Treatments can, however, relieve its symptoms and improve quality of life for the person and their family and caregivers.
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