The first 11 symptoms of Alzheimer's (and their explanation)

Alzheimer's is a neurodegenerative disease that causes serious damage to the brain and kills many neurons, affecting the connections between them. This has a behavioral and cognitive effect, and affects memory, among many other things.

Alzheimer's is a cortical-type dementia and is one of the most common and well-known. Generally, the disease progresses gradually, that is why early detection and diagnosis is essential. Treatment in the early stages of the disease can relieve symptoms and slow its progression.

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Proteins involved in Alzheimer's

The exact cause of this disease is still unknown today, although some changes are observed in the brain of people who suffer from this condition. Individuals with Alzheimer's have a high number of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid beta plaques.

Scientific data point to the idea that there are malformations in two proteins found in the brain, the tau proteins and the beta amyloid

. According to a group of researchers from the Montreal Neurological Institute, these proteins expand through the brain like a plague, and are linked to aging and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

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While initial research suggested that both proteins initially emerge in separate brain regions, a new study that was published in December 2016 in the Journal Acta Neuropathologica states that both proteins are present in the early stages of the disease and in the same brain region, which suggests that both contribute to the onset of the disease and are more connected than previously believed. This research was carried out by the University of Aberdeen.

Early symptoms of Alzheimer's

This study concludes, therefore, that for the first time that the molecules supposedly contribute to the initial process of the disease, that is, they are present in very early stages of Alzheimer's. They are found in an area of ​​the brain that is involved in memory formation and information processing, which could have implications for the development of new drugs, but can also provide important information for the early diagnosis of disease.

Y… What are the symptoms of early diagnosis? What behaviors do people with Alzheimer's present in the initial moments of the disease?

Below you can find a list of first symptoms and characteristic signs of people with Alzheimer's in the early stages.

1. Frequent falls

Although falls are common in the elderly, they are even more so in people with Alzheimer's. Here's what a study of 125 adult subjects found, who were tracked how often they fell or tripped over an eight-month period.

It turns out that when the group of researchers performed the brain scan tests, the Alzheimer's subjects had fallen the most. Falls are common in people with this disease due to ambulation or lack of orientation. Likewise, these individuals often present with hyperkinetic disorder., which makes them be more active and move more, increasing the chances of falling.

2. Forgetfulness in aspects of routine

Memory problems are characteristic of Alzheimer's, so that in the early stage of the disease it is possible to detect that the memory of these people fails. The easiest way to observe it is in functional objects and those that are used on a daily basis. For example, the person does not remember where the keys or dirty dishes are kept. You have serious difficulty carrying out simple tasks that you used to do normally.

3. Inability to recognize sarcasm

People with Alzheimer's don't understand sarcasm, so in this situation they can become extremely serious and take things literally. A study at the University of California, San Francisco, led by Katherine Rankin, found that Alzheimer's patients and those with frontotemporal disease did not recognize sarcasm in face-to-face encounters expensive.

The cause seems to be that the hippocampus The posterior brain is affected with Alzheimer's disease, and it is a region where short-term memory is stored, which affects sarcasm.

4. Loss of belongings

SIt has been commented that people with Alzheimer's can forget aspects of the routine, such as not knowing where to keep the keys or not remembering whether or not they have eaten throughout the day. This causes that many times they lose their own belongings, because they do not know where they have put them. Often they even put their things in the wrong places, for example, the clock in the fridge.

5. Changes in your social behavior

People with Alzheimer's show a series of behaviors that suggest that something is happening to them. His way of behaving in regards to his projects changes or he stops doing the hobbies that he previously enjoyed so much. The person increasingly withdraws from social life and may sleep more or spend more time watching television instead of socializing with other people.

6. Difficulties in solving problems

It is common for patients to have difficulty solving problems. In fact, they find it difficult to do math or follow a set of guidelines. For example, it would be very difficult for them to follow a simple culinary recipe.

7. Humor changes

Mood swings are common in people with Alzheimer's disease, which can become very problematic and even conflictive in advanced stages. In fact, their personality changes radically as the disease progresses, and family members are the ones who feel this behavior the most.

Anxiety, sadness, fear or frustration are emotions that these subjects can suffer frequently. They can get angry easily both at home and in places where they are out of their environment.

8. Confusion about time and places

Individuals with this disease can be confused about the time and place.. In other words, they can feel disoriented and can get lost quite easily. This causes serious problems for them, and as stated above, disorientation also causes these people to fall further.

9. Loss of common sense

A person's judgment is his opinions and decisions. Individuals who suffer from Alzheimer's may see this ability diminished, causing them to pay less attention to their self-care or to make decisions that are little understood and far from common sense.

For example, when giving a lot of money to a telephony salesperson who calls you on your mobile offering you an offer. These decisions may seem strange and irresponsible to other mortals, but not to them.

10. Excessive agitation

It is not uncommon for people with Alzheimer's to feel distressed or agitated. What causes them to be in constant motion... Agitation is usually the result of fear, confusion or trying to understand the world that begins to make no sense at times. This also causes the aforementioned mood swings, and is a clear sign that the person is changing.

11. Difficulties communicating

With this disease, the language and communication skills of the affected person decrease markedly. It is very common that even in the vocabulary these symptoms can be appreciated: difficulties in finding the correct word, calling things by names wrong, substitute familiar words for unusual or incorrect ones, or call acquaintances as if they were strangers (for example, a friend as "that kind").