International World Alzheimer’s Day

Alzheimer’s is a specific type of dementia, a devastating condition that progressively worsens and compromises cognition and everyday functioning. As the general population’s life expectancy increases, more instances of Alzheimer’s occur now than ever before.??

Facts about Alzheimer’s?Disease

Alzhiemer’s has a tremendous impact on patients, their family and friends, and society as a whole. According to the Alzheimer’s Association:??

• Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States.
• 1 in 3 Seniors dies with Alzheimer’s disease.
• In 2018, more than 16.1 million caregivers will end up providing an estimated 18.4 billion hours of unpaid care.
• Alzheimer’s costs caregivers more than their time.
• Family caregivers spend more than $10,000 a year caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease.
• Every 65 seconds someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s disease.
• In 2018, Alzheimer’s and other dementias were estimated to cost the US $277 billion.
• Alzheimer’s disease kills more than Breast and Prostate cancer combined.

10 Early Signs of Alzheimer’s

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, these are the 10 early signs of Alzheimer’s to be on the lookout for:?

1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life
2. Challenges in planning or solving problems
3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks
4. Confusion with time or place

1. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
2. New problems with words in speaking or writing?
3. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
4. Decreased or poor judgment?
5. Withdrawal from work or social activities
6. Changes in mood and personality

It is crucial to be proactive about these signs and go to a doctor if you notice any of them in yourself or your loved one.?

Cognitive Differences Between Normal Age-Related Changes and Alzheimer’s/Dementia

You might have heard someone say that they are not as sharp as when they were younger. This is true because as you get older, aging effects cognition. But there is a line between normal aging and Alzheimer’s/dementia-related changes to behavior and cognition

While normal aging includes forgetting things every once in a while or not remembering some words, these instances are more severe in Alzheimer’s patients and it inhibits them from doing more complex tasks like following a budget.??

Studying Alzheimer’s and Dementia?

Currently, a lot of efforts are being placed in not just finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease which has proved to be elusive, but also for improving diagnostic tests and conducting other types of cognitive tests. The gold standard for diagnosing Alzheimer’s is to take and analyze brain tissue, a procedure that is invasive. As a result, there is a 30% misdiagnosis rate in patients. Current day research trends are even looking at the eye’s retina as a possible diagnostic tool for Alzheimer’s (Yuan & Lee, 2022).?

Researchers are also exploring remote testing in Alzheimer’s patients. A study that recently published using Labvanced with neuropsychological and neurolinguistic batteries concluded that performing them remotely over the internet is feasible (Requena-Komuro et al., 2022).

?Healthy Aging

Although there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, there are certain lifestyle choices that have been shown to reduce the risk of developing it (Grabher, 2018). To promote brain health and healthy aging, it is crucial to have good habits that have been shown to improve brain functioning and cognitive power, including but not limited to:

1. Having a good diet
2. Exercising?
3. Learning new skills?
4. Having a positive social circle

References

Alzheimer’s Association, 2018 Alzheimer’s Disease Infographic (2018), Retrieved from https://www.alz.org/media/Documents/alzheimers-facts-and-figures-infographic.pdf

Grabher, B. J. (2018). Effects of Alzheimer disease on patients and their family. Journal of nuclear medicine technology, 46(4), 335-340.

Requena-Komuro, M. C., Jiang, J., Dobson, L., Benhamou, E., Russell, L., Bond, R. L., ... & Hardy, C. J. (2022). Neuropsychological assessments for dementia research in the COVID-19 era: comparing remote and face-to-face testing. medRxiv.

Yuan, A., & Lee, C. S. (2022). Retinal biomarkers for Alzheimer disease: the facts and the future. The Asia-Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology, 11(2), 140-148.