National Alzheimer's Disease Month

Since 1983, President Ronald Reagan also has proclaimed November as National Alzheimer's Disease Month --- to recognize the progress being made against Alzheimer's disease and to show understanding and support for the individuals with the disease, as well as their families and friends.

Since that time, the Alzheimer's Association has used the event to raise awareness of Alzheimer's disease, the experiences of people with the disease and their families, and the importance of finding treatments, preventions and a cure.

Dementia is an umbrella term for several symptoms related to a decline in thinking skills. Common symptoms include a gradual loss of memory, problems with reasoning or judgment, disorientation, difficulty in learning, loss of language skills, and decline in the ability to perform routine tasks.

People with dementia also experience changes in their personalities and behavioral problems, such as agitation, anxiety, delusions (believing in a reality that does not exist), and hallucinations (seeing things that do not exist).

Several disorders that are similar to Alzheimer’s disease can cause dementia. These include fronto-temporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and Huntington’s disease. All of these disorders involve disease processes that destroy brain cells.

Vascular dementia is a disorder caused by the disruption of blood flow to the brain. This may be the result of a massive stroke or several tiny strokes.

Some treatable conditions — such as depression, drug interactions, and thyroid problems — can cause dementia. If treated early enough, this dementia may be effectively treated and even reversed.

Some change in memory is normal as we grow older, but the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are more than simple lapses in memory. People with Alzheimer’s experience difficulties communicating, learning, thinking, and reasoning — problems severe enough to have an impact on an individual's work, social activities, and family life.

The Alzheimer’s Association believes that it is critical for people with dementia and their families to receive information, care, and support as early as possible. To help family members and health care professionals recognize warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease, the Association has developed a checklist of common symptoms.

1. Memory loss. One of the most common early signs of dementia is forgetting recently learned information. While it’s normal to forget appointments, names, or telephone numbers, those with dementia will forget such things more often and not remember them later.

2. Difficulty performing familiar tasks. People with dementia often find it hard to complete everyday tasks that are so familiar we usually do not think about how to do them. A person with Alzheimer’s may not know the steps for preparing a meal, using a household appliance, or participating in a lifelong hobby.

3. Problems with language. Everyone has trouble finding the right word sometimes, but a person with Alzheimer’s disease often forgets simple words or substitutes unusual words, making his or her speech or writing hard to understand. If a person with Alzheimer’s is unable to find his or her toothbrush, for example, the individual may ask for “that thing for my mouth.”

4. Disorientation to time and place. It’s normal to forget the day of the week or where you’re going. But people with Alzheimer’s disease can become lost on their own street, forget where they are and how they got there, and not know how to get back home.

5. Poor or decreased judgment. No one has perfect judgment all of the time. Those with Alzheimer’s may dress without regard to the weather, wearing several shirts or blouses on a warm day or very little clothing in cold weather. Individuals with dementia often show poor judgment about money, giving away large amounts of money to telemarketers or paying for home repairs or products they don’t need.

6. Problems with abstract thinking. Balancing a checkbook may be hard when the task is more complicated than usual. Someone with Alzheimer’s disease could forget completely what the numbers are and what needs to be done with them.

7. Misplacing things. Anyone can temporarily misplace a wallet or key. A person with Alzheimer’s disease may put things in unusual places: an iron in the freezer or a wristwatch in the sugar bowl.

8. Changes in mood or behavior. Everyone can become sad or moody from time to time. Someone with Alzheimer’s disease can show rapid mood swings—from calm to tears to anger—for no apparent reason.

9. Changes in personality. People’s personalities ordinarily change somewhat with age. But a person with Alzheimer’s disease can change a lot, becoming extremely confused, suspicious, fearful, or dependent on a family member.

10. Loss of initiative. It’s normal to tire of housework, business activities, or social obligations at times. The person with Alzheimer’s disease may become very passive, sitting in front of the television for hours, sleeping more than usual, or not wanting to do usual activities.

If you recognize any warning signs in yourself or a loved one, the Alzheimer’s Association recommends consulting a physician. Early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or other disorders causing dementia is an important step in getting appropriate treatment, care, and support services.

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