Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease

The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease can be divided into two stages according to the progress- the early stage symptoms and the late stage symptoms.

Early stage symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease

In the early stages the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease can be very subtle. Some of the common symptoms during the early stages of the Alzheimer’s disease are listed below:

• Memory lapses

One of the most important symptoms of this disease is lapses in memory. The memory lapse is especially evident in case of recent events, where the person tends to forget important appointments or meetings or even dates of important occasions such as weddings and birthdays. They experience difficulty in recalling recent events. The memory lapses gradually become persistent and increase in frequency.

• Difficulty in remembering the right words for common objects

The person may start to experience difficulty in remembering even simple words that are used to describe common objects. This often results in vague conversations and confusion.

• Difficulty in making decisions

The memory lapses and the resulting confusion often hamper the decision making ability of the people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

• The person may become irritable

The person affected by Alzheimer’s disease may start to become more and more irritable and confused as the disease starts to affect brain functions such as thinking and personality.

Late stage symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease

As the Alzheimer’s disease progresses gradually the person affected by this disease begins to show the symptoms in increased severity and frequency. Some of the common symptoms that begin to appear in the later stage of Alzheimer’s disease are mentioned below.

• Long term memory loss

The person suffering from this disease begins to experience frequent memory lapses, which eventually progress to long term loss of memory. They are unable to look after themselves or their kids because of their memory lapses. This may even result in serious accidents in the household which may involve them as well as other family members. In the later stages of the disease they may be bed ridden or need to be cared by somebody.

• Poor communication skills

As a result of their memory loss they find it difficult to communicate with other people. They become extremely confused and irritable. They are unable to remember common words in conversation and what the other person said a minute ago. They are not able to recall the topic of the conversation and often tend to speak in a vague and confused manner.

• Severe personality changes

As they become more and more dependent on others for their basic day to day needs they begin to become irritable and confused. The loss of memory hampers their social and communication skills. In some cases it may even lead to a total loss of speech. They are unable to follow instructions. They are unable to process the information that is offered to them. They show a lack of enthusiasm and interest in the activities that they used to enjoy before.

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