Alzheimers Symptoms

Alzheimer's disease or AD is a progressive disease which causes deterioration of brain tissue leading to dementia which is the loss of mental abilities and memory. In this medical guide to Alzheimer's disease, you will learn about the significant symptoms or warning signs which have been associated with the diagnosis of Alzheimer's. It is essential that you seek medical advice if you notice any of these symptoms in an individual particularly over the age of sixty five.

The Memory Loss Associated with Alzheimer's  

The most common and prominent symptom of this disease is the significant memory loss that occurs which is disruptive to their lives such as forgetting essential appointments or dates, not being able to retain important information which was recently given to them, or asking for the same information numerous times.

When it comes to problem solving or planning, the individual may have trouble in doing things which were easily accomplished before such as remembering to pay the monthly bills or doing familiar chores around the home. When driving to and from familiar locations such as home or work, the individual may suddenly have difficulty in remembering how to get from one to the other.

Cognitive and social Skills

Individuals with Alzheimer's often times have trouble with their judgment of distances, identifying contrast in colors, or difficulty when comprehending visual images such as when walking past a mirror upon seeing their reflection they may believe it to be that of someone else.

The individual may forget or mix up common words when having conversations or stop in the middle of a sentence not being able to resume as well as repeating the same information numerous times. Another common sign of this disease is when the individual begins to make poor judgments or decisions and are susceptible to such things as giving large amounts of money to sales people such as telemarketers.

Other symptoms include ceasing social activities which the individual used to enjoy and alienating themselves from social events with family or co-workers. Mood swings and depression are also common with Alzheimer's symptoms and they may become easily agitated with friends or family in certain situations.