A few facts about Alzheimer’s

A few facts about Alzheimer’s you all should know:

Someone cannot recover from Alzheimer’s, it is incurable. It can be slowed down, but it cannot be cured.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. Dementia is a term that is used to describe a group of brain disorders. These brain disorders cause memory loss and make it harder to carry out daily tasks.

Alzheimer's disease develops slowly over time. The symptoms begin to appear so gradually that it is often mistaken for normal aging.

When someone has Alzheimer's disease, nerve cells die in areas of the brain that are vital to memory and other mental abilities, and connections between nerve cells are disrupted. There are also lower levels of some of the chemicals in the brain that carry messages back and forth between nerve cells. This affects memory, judgment, and thinking, which in turn may hinder a person's ability to handle day-to-day activities.
Normal Aging
Forgetting the names of people yourarely see
Briefly forgetting part of an experience
Not putting things away properly
Mood changes because of anappropriate cause
Changes in your interests

Early Signs of Alzheimer's
Forgetting the names of peopleclose to you
Forgetting a recent experience
Putting things away in strange places
Having unpredictable mood changes
Decreased interest in activities


The confusion and disorientation of mid-stage Alzheimer’s bring increasing difficulty with maintaining normal behaviors. The result may be inappropriate behavior in social situations or getting lost in one’s own house. Alzheimer’s patients can become a danger to themselves or others.

Alzheimer’s patients may have a wide variety of behavioral problems including wandering; rummaging through or hiding things; aggressiveness; hallucinations or paranoia; and sleeping and eating problems.


The symptom screener can help you find out if the problems you're noticing could be symptoms of Alzheimer's. Answer the eight questions below about changes you have noticed and share them with the doctor.

Remember, "Yes, a change" indicates that there has been a change in the last several years caused by cognitive (thinking and memory) problems.

. .Problems with judgment (problems making decisions, bad financial decisions, problems with thinking, etc.) Yes a change
. .Less interest in hobbies/activities Yes a change
. . Repeats the same things over and over (questions, stories, or statements) Yes a change
. .Trouble learning how to use a tool, appliance, or gadget (e.g., VCR, computer, microwave, remote control) Yes a change
. .Forgets correct month or year Yes a change
. .Trouble handling complicated financial affairs (balancing checkbook, income taxes, paying bills, etc.) Yes a change
. .Trouble remembering appointments Yes a change
. .Daily problems with thinking or memory Yes a change

(The answers here do not apply to me, but to someone I love dearly and am very worried about)
None of those are my words, they are all from various resources on the internet.
http://alzheimers.about.com/cs/diagnosisissues/f/faq_cure.htm
http://www.aricept.com
http://www.helpguide.org/elder/alzheimers_disease_dementias_caring_caregivers.htm
http://www.caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/content_node.jsp?nodeid=391