Six Early Signs Of Alzheimer’s To Be Aware
Alzheimer's disease is generally considered to be a progressive condition that can affect people as they age. However, the initial deterioration of the brain Alzheimer’s disease causes can happen many years before any noticeable behavioral changes occur.
Eventually, though, Alzheimer's early symptoms may appear—and learning how to recognize them can help you or a loved one seek adequate support.
In this article, we’ll discuss some of the most common and easily identified signs of Alzheimer’s disease that you may want to be on the lookout for. We’ll also explore possible supportive solutions if you or a loved one suspect that you might be experiencing Alzheimer’s disease.
1. Memory loss
One of the first symptoms to be reported for many experiencing early-stage Alzheimer's disease can be a loss of memory, which can include working memory and long-term declarative memory. Even if the individual with the condition does not realize their forgetfulness, friends, family and caretakers might be the first ones to notice these changes.
A memory decline can be mild or subtle at first, possibly indicated by short-term memory loss or excessive forgetfulness. In this stage, people may also repeat themselves very often or misplace things easily. Eventually, this can evolve into the person not remembering people, including those closest to them.
Alzheimer's patients might also lose their memory of smell and can have an impaired sense of scent recognition. This can result in behavioral changes. For example, if food starts to smell malodorous, this can cause the person to think the food is rotten, potentially leading to malnutrition.
2. Difficulties with completing tasks and problem-solving skills
Another cognitive function that can be affected by Alzheimer’s can be the ability to carry out everyday activities and solve problems. Losing problem-solving skills can be particularly problematic because many senior citizens live by themselves and may not be able to communicate when they need help or guidance.
Some tasks that someone with early Alzheimer's symptoms might find difficulty in include:
- Sorting out medication
- Managing finances
- Driving a vehicle
The person might be very familiar with these activities at first—however, over time, their ability to remember how to do them can diminish. For example, a person might struggle to work with numbers and therefore may find it difficult to manage a checkbook and pay their bills.
3. Difficulties with time and location
The ability to perceive time can arguably be an “essential” function of the human brain. However, when Alzheimer's disease takes effect, it can be compromised—possibly leading to time distortion.
Time can refer to many things. For example, it can indicate the current hour, or it can include the measurement of months, days and years. Those with early-onset Alzheimer's might seem to have a hard time remembering dates or might frequently forget what day of the week it is.
However, time perception can affect much more than our sense of the day and month. Feeling unable to navigate time accurately can lead some with Alzheimer’s disease to "time travel,” or use their thoughts to relive the past or imagine the future.
Symptoms like these can often tie in with a person's memory and therefore may become more significant as the disease progresses.
In addition to time, people with early signs of Alzheimer's might also find it difficult to understand their physical location. They may be unaware of where they are presently, or how they got there in the first place. They may also fail to remember the directions to familiar places.
4. Poor judgment and decision making
Decision-making can affect multiple areas of life, all of which can be negatively impacted by Alzheimer’s disease. Some examples can include:
- How to dress
- What to eat
- Proper hygiene
- How to handle money
- How to behave around others
Someone living with early symptoms of Alzheimer’s might have difficulties finding what clothes to wear—and might spend an excessive amount of time doing so. It can also be common for personal care to get neglected over time, which may result from poor hygiene and grooming habits.
If these situations are becoming increasingly common, assistance from a caregiver may be necessary to help a person with Alzheimer’s disease avoid undue injury, stress or other consequences.
5. Communication issues
Although these can happen to healthy people, some early signs of Alzheimer's that can be linked to one’s ability to communicate include:
- Losing one’s train of thought
- Struggling to find the right words to express a thought
- Remembering what certain words mean
- Difficulty sustaining attention
- Sensitivity to vocal tone
Due to these factors, communicating with a friend or relative living with the disease may be difficult for those outside of the situation. It can help to keep in mind that communication challenges like these can be just as frustrating for a person with Alzheimer’s; and that it may be best to develop ways to communicate that are both approachable and straightforward.
In the early stages of Alzheimer's, there are generally plenty of strategies you can use to try to make communication easier. For example, if you need to inquire about something, you can try to be as specific as possible and limit the number of choices offered to avoid overwhelming your loved one.
6. Mood and personality changes
This last group of Alzheimer's early symptoms may be one of the most crucial ones to watch out for, as it can blend in with other psychiatric conditions: Psychosis.
It can be common for people with Alzheimer's disease to exhibit depressive symptoms, apathy, aggression, and psychosis. In fact, for those living with Alzheimer's disease, depression has a comorbidity rate that can range from 25 to 75%.
Changes in mood and personality can be particularly significant because, at first glance, they can lead even a medical professional to misunderstand the true root of behavioral changes, with the result being an inaccurate diagnosis. When symptoms like these appear in conjunction with others that may be connected to Alzheimer’s, it can become easier to distinguish what’s really going on.
How online therapy can help
In addition to speaking with a doctor about your concerns, it can be beneficial to receive care from a mental health professional, too.
Living with Alzheimer’s disease and the changes it can produce may be challenging for the person in question and their loved ones. A licensed therapist can offer advice, and support, and help you find ways to experience joy and peace.
Additionally, for those with Alzheimer’s, resources like online therapy can be an especially easy way to connect with a professional. Because you don’t have to leave your own home to attend sessions, online therapy can help you save time, money, and stress that might otherwise come with getting yourself or a family member to and from in-person appointments.
Research generally supports online therapy’s ability to help many manage mental health concerns and meet patient needs. One recent review of 17 studies found that online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be just as effective as in-person options for addressing mental health symptoms that can be associated with Alzheimer’s. The same review also discovered that online CBT was generally regarded as a more cost-effective option for most clients than traditional therapy.
Takeaway
What are the 7 Alzheimer's warning signs?
There are several warning signs of Alzheimer’s; here are seven of those identified by the Alzheimer’s Association.
- Memory problems or memory loss that disrupts daily life
- Difficulty concentrating and challenges or poor judgment in planning or solving problems
- Difficulty completing familiar tasks
- Confusion with time or place
- Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
- New problems with speaking or writing words
- Misplacing things or having rouble trouble finding things and losing the ability to retrace steps
What is the 5-word memory test?
The 5-word memory test is a verbal test meant to evaluate short-term memory. The person administering the test asks the person taking the test to memorize five common words. If the person has a hard time remembering these words, it could indicate cognitive decline. This test can identify delayed recall and short-term memory and gauge the general state of someone’s cognitive health, but it is not a diagnostic tool. If there are concerns about the person’s cognitive function after taking the 5-word memory test, they will likely need a comprehensive evaluation.
What is the 3-word memory test?
The three-word memory test is similar to the five-word memory test mentioned above, but it uses three words instead of five.
What are the 4 A's of Alzheimer's symptoms?
The four A’s of Alzheimer’s symptoms are amnesia, aphasia, apraxia, and agnosia.
Amnesia or memory loss generally starts with short-term memories and progresses to long-term memories. It can be the most easily visible sign of Alzheimer's and is generally the most common.
Aphasia is impaired communication, whether reading, writing, or speaking. It can be either expressive or receptive. Expressive aphasia occurs when someone cannot find the right words or says them incorrectly. Receptive amnesia is when someone cannot receive, understand, or interpret language.
Apraxia is a deficit in voluntary motor skills. As Alzheimer’s progresses, it begins to affect the body’s physical ability to function, and activities of daily living like getting dressed and bathing may become difficult. As the disease progresses, eating and walking may be affected also.
Agnosia is impairment of the senses; essentially, the person loses the ability to receive or understand information from the senses of smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. For example, someone with Alzheimer’s may not be able to identify tastes or interpret what they’re hearing.
What is the 12-question dementia test?
The SAGE test, or the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination, is a 12-question dementia test that can provide insight into whether someone has Alzheimer’s disease. Generally, people take the exam at home and then take it to their doctor, who can score the tests, interpret the results, and determine whether additional screening is necessary.
What is the 5-minute dementia test?
The five-minute cognitive test is another way to determine if a person has any deficits in five areas of cognitive abilities, including time orientation, language fluency, executive functions, episodic memory, and visuospatial function.
What is the 10-minute Alzheimer's test?
The 10-minute Alzheimer’s test may refer to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test, a test that can detect early signs of dementia or mild cognitive impairment. This test examines a range areas, including working memory, short-term memory, executive functioning, attention, relation to time and place, understanding and using language, and visuospatial capacity.
What is one of the first signs of cognitive decline?
Memory loss is one of the first signs of cognitive decline or Alzheimer’s disease. This can include both working memory and long-term declarative memory. Changes may be mild at first and may appear as forgetting recently learned information. People may lose things often or repeat themselves. This can evolve into more serious memory loss, like forgetting those who are closest to them. Friends and family members may be the first ones to notice these changes.
What is the 7-minute screen test for dementia?
The seven-minute screen or 7MS is an older test used to detect Alzheimer’s disease. It evaluates a range of areas, including enhanced cued recall, temporal orientation, verbal fluency, and clock drawing.
What is the biggest predictor of Alzheimer's?
Aging does not cause people to develop Alzheimer’s, but age is the biggest risk factor. The number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s doubles every five years after 65, and about a third of people over 85 may have it.
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