Overview

The illness profoundly impacts a person’s memory, thinking, learning, and organizational abilities, eventually affecting their capacity to perform basic everyday tasks. Alzheimer’s disease is not an expected aspect of aging.

The signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s get worse with time. In fact, according to doctors, the illness process could last up to 10 years before Alzheimer’s disease symptoms start to show.

When memory issues do become apparent, they are frequently classified as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). At this point, the brain adjusts to the effects of the disease, affecting intellectual function but leaving the ability to operate and live independently unaffected.

MCI may continue to progress in some persons at this point. However, dementia is most likely to progress in MCI patients. The most prevalent type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. (Dementia may also be brought on by several conditions, including vascular dementia, Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia, and others.) The daily function is compromised with dementia, as opposed to MCI. Alzheimer’s disease patients who have advanced dementia are unable to communicate, recognize friends and relatives, or take care of themselves.

Symptoms

The primary sign of Alzheimer’s disease is memory loss. Early warning indications include having trouble recalling previous conversations or occurrences. Memory deficits worsen as the disease advances and new symptoms appear.

A person with Alzheimer’s disease may initially be aware of having trouble organizing their thoughts and remembering things. It’s possible that a friend or family member would notice the symptoms getting worse first. Alzheimer’s disease-related brain alterations cause increasing problems with:

Causes

Protein accumulation that is out of the ordinary in the brain is what leads to Alzheimer’s disease. These proteins, amyloid and tau proteins, accumulate and cause cell death.Over 100 billion nerve cells and other types of cells make up the human brain. Together, the nerve cells carry out all of the communications required to carry out tasks like thinking, learning, remembering, and planning. The accumulation of amyloid protein, which forms bigger aggregates known as plaques in the brain cells, is thought to occur. Tau tangles are made of twisted tau protein fibers. These plaques and tangles obstruct nerve cell communication, which prevents nerve cells from performing their functions. The symptoms experienced by people with Alzheimer’s disease are caused by the slow and continuous death of the nerve cells, which begins in one area of the brain (often in the area of the brain that governs memory) before spreading to other places.

Diagnosis

Physical and neurological exam

Treatment

Drugs  such as:

Risk factors