Alzheimer's Disease Page Refresh
What is Alzheimer’s Disease?
Alzheimer’s Disease is a form of dementia, caused by brain injuries or diseases that can affect memory, thinking, and behavior, in everyday life.
Early Onset Alzheimer’s
While most people are diagnosed after the age of 65, some may show signs of the disease before then. If a diagnosis comes before age 65, it is generally considered to be early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
What is the Difference Between Alzheimer’s and Dementia?
Even though the terms are correlated, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are not the same thing. Dementia is a broader term for a decline in cognition that is significant enough to interfere with daily functioning.
Alzheimer’s disease is a specific type of dementia, and the most common, accounting for 60 to 80 percent of all dementia cases. There are other forms of dementia in addition to Alzheimer’s disease, and obtaining an accurate diagnosis is important for treatment and care planning.
What causes Alzheimer’s?
While a single cause of Alzheimer’s disease hasn’t been discovered, experts have identified risk factors, including genetics, family history, and age. If you have one or more of these risk factors, it does not guarantee that you will get Alzheimer’s disease, but it will be more important to talk with your doctor about checking for early signs, in order to start proper treatment, and care. The CRCNJ has more information on what to look for here.
Symptoms of Alzheimer’s
Everyone experiences memory loss from time to time, but Alzheimer’s disease demonstrates certain ongoing occurrences, such as:
Memory loss that affects daily life
Withdrawing from conversations or social situations
Trouble with visual and spatial recognition
Common feelings of confusion
Difficulties with completing familiar tasks, planning, and problem solving
Frequently misplacing items
Increasingly drastic changes in mood or personality
If you think you are experiencing one or more of these symptoms, contact The CRCNJ to schedule a memory screening at no cost to you.
How is Alzheimer’s Diagnosed?
Doctors use a diverse combination of tools and methods to determine if a person having memory problems has possible Alzheimer’s disease. In order to diagnose a patient, a doctor may:
Ask the patient, family members, or friends questions about the patient’s overall health, including the use of medications, past medical problems, diet, the ability to carry out normal daily activities, and changes in personality or behavior
Conduct memory tests, problem solving and attention assessments, and counting and language evaluations
Evaluate standard medical tests, such as urine and blood tests, to attempt to identify other possible causes of symptoms
Perform brain scans with the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), or positron emission tomography (PET) scans. (The neurological hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease is the formation of plaques and tangles in the brain, which doctors could help determine from these scans.)
Doctors may repeat these tests over time, to assess changes in a person’s memory, or other cognitive functions.
Stages of Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease, which means that over time, the symptoms will gradually worsen. Experts have broken Alzheimer’s disease into seven stages:
Mild Alzheimer’s Disease
No symptoms emerge at this stage, but based on family history, there might be an early diagnosis
Forgetfulness, and other early symptoms may appear
Reduced memory and concentration, or other physical and mental impairments may appear
There is evidence of memory loss and inability to perform everyday tasks; Alzheimer’s is usually diagnosed at this stage
Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease
Help may be required by loved ones or caregivers
Impairment occurs in areas of the brain that control language, senses, reasoning, and consciousness; help may be required to get dressed, eat, or to perform other basic tasks
Severe Alzheimer’s Disease
Loss of speech and facial expressions is evident; complete dependence on caregivers is required
As a person progresses through these stages, support from a caregiver will become more important than ever.
Alzheimer’s Treatment
Since Alzheimer’s disease is so complex, there is no one drug or treatment that can cure it, but there is hope that with developmental therapies that target specific genetic, molecular, and cellular mechanisms, that the underlying cause of the disease will someday be stopped or prevented. While there are FDA-approved medications that slow down the progression of the disease, there are currently no medications available that will completely stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Many of these medications focus on maintaining mental functions and managing behavioral symptoms to make patients more comfortable and to ease the progression for caregivers.
Path to a Cure – Clinical Trials
The acceleration of Alzheimer’s and other dementia research is critical. The only way to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease is through clinical trials, which are research studies of medications that aim to stop the progression of the disease. Patients who participate in a clinical trial, play a more active role in their own health care, and have access to cutting-edge technology. For more information on clinical trials we are conducting at The CRCNJ, please click here.
Contact us to make an appointment or call 973-850-4622 to learn more about how The CRCNJ can help.