Symptoms of alzheimer’s disease

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Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by a disoriented perception of space and time, inability to concentrate or communicate and a loss of memory.

 By disoriented perception of space, a patient could think he is at a specific location while he is not. For instance, he may drive round a particular spot without recalling that that is where he is supposed to be heading. He may also miss his way while walking within familiar places such as going to his room, visiting the lavatory or finding the entrance and exit of the building.

Another example is he missing his way in places where he has been many times before his illness. A disoriented perception of time could be that he mistakes the day for night or vice versa. Other signs of the disease include depression, agitation, withdrawal, insomnia, dementia, and irritability, changes in personality, change in sensation, severe mood swings and senility.

Withdrawal in the case means the patient isolates himself from usual interests and activities. Examples are brushing his teeth every morning, recognizing his friends or family by greeting, making friends and changing his style of dressing all of a sudden.

Change of personality includes transforming one’s appearance in dressing and attitude.

Medical research has discovered some early warning sign of Alzheimer’s disease. This is the gradual loss of the sense of smell. Studies reveal that patients tend to lose their sense of smell two years before mental decline. It is said that the rate at which one loses his sense of smell determines the length of time that it would take for him to lose his mental capabilities. Nonetheless, smoking is a natural cause of partial memory loss.   

Symptoms of alzheimer’s disease normally reveal themselves between the ages of 70 and 90 years old. The most distinguishing trait of the disease is the lost of memory. Memory lost denotes the inability to recall information in a short period or a long period.

An Alzheimer patient may forget the names of members of his family such as his wife or children. He could also forget the names of common items in and out of his home. He may lose his concentration while conversing making him forget the entire conversation.   

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease could be caused by metabolic diseases such as vitamin deficiencies, kidney failure, liver failure, malnutrition, hypoglycemia, dehydration and hypothyroidism.

Side-effects from certain medications, alcohol, and abuse of drugs as well as substance-induced ailments could trigger the symptoms of the disease.   

Psychological issues also play a role in prompting symptoms. Some of these are depression, emotional trauma, delirium, continual stress, psychosis, chronic sleep deprivation, delirium and dementia syndrome.

Certain infections also account for the emergence of the symptoms. Meningitis, encephalitis and syphilis are to mention but a few.

Disorders in the central nervous as well as other degenerative diseases can also generate symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Some of these are brain tumors, injuries to the head, Parkinson’s disease, Pick’s disease, stroke, epilepsy and Huntington’s disease. 


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