Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that progresses over time and is responsible for 60-70% of dementia cases. Experts say that being over 55 is one of the main factors for the disease. Alzheimer’s is a pretty stressful experience, but forgetting things doesn’t necessarily have to mean that you’re suffering from it.
Alzheimer’s affects 1 in every 10 people over 65 and nearly 50% of people older than 85. 26 million people around the world are currently suffering from it, while statistics say that the disease will affect more than 15 million Americans by 2050.
The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease appear slowly and worsen over time. Besides losing your memory, the disease can become a widespread brain impairment pretty soon. Alzheimer’s destroy the brain chemically and structurally, impairing your ability to learn, remember and behave. As the disease progresses, more and more brain cells die off, resulting in a dramatic personality change.
The most common risk factors for dementia are age, family history and genetics. Diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure also increase the risk of Alzheimer’s, so you should try to prevent them.
The symptoms of Alzheimer’s progress over time and usually start in a non-significant manner. Once they advance, however, they can seriously impact a person’s life. The most common symptom of the disease are memory lapses due to the damage in the hippocampus. Over time, Alzheimer’s patients will lose the ability to remember names, places and simple things. They may also start losing things around the house, forget recent conversations, get lost in a familiar place and struggle to find words in a conversation. Here are some early Alzheimer’s symptoms you should watch out for:
- Fatigue and lack of energy;
- Mood swings;
- Memory loss;
- Reacting slowly to new situations;
- Being angry, frustrated or depressed all the time;
- Learning things is harder than before;
- Losing the ability to understand certain things;
- Reduces performance of simple everyday tasks;
- Trouble communicating with others.
Although these symptoms may also indicate other conditions, we suggest visiting a doctor who will tell you if you’re suffering from the awful disease.
Source : educationofsoul.com
