Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disease that causes a slow decline in memory, thinking, and reasoning skills. Alzheimer’s is not just a disease of old age. Alzheimer’s affects people younger than age 65. Here are the top 10 warning signs and symptoms that you should be aware of!!

1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life, especially forgetting recently learned information.
Ex: Asking the same information over and over; forgetting important dates or events; heavily relying on memory aids (reminder notes or electronic devices) or family members for things they used to handle on their own.

2. Challenges in planning or solving problems.
Ex: Changes in their ability to follow a plan or having trouble with a familiar recipe or keeping track of monthly bills.

3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work, or at leisure.
Ex: Hard to complete daily tasks, trouble driving to a familiar location, or remembering the rules of a favorite game.

4. Confusion with time or place.
Ex: Sometimes may forget where they are or how they got there.

5. Trouble with understanding visual images and spatial relationships.
Ex: Difficulty reading, judging distance, and determining color or contrast, which may cause problems with driving.

6. New problems with words in speaking or writing.
Ex: Repeat themselves or stop in a middle of a sentence and not know how to continue; struggle with vocabulary, or call things by the wrong name.

7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps.
Ex: Put things in an unusual places, accuse others of stealing, or lose things and not able to go back over their steps. This may occur more frequently over time.

8. Decrease or poor judgment.
Ex: Poor judgment with dealing with money; pay less attention to grooming or keeping themselves clean.

9. Withdrawal from work or social activities.
Ex: Remove themselves from hobbies, social activities, or sports.

10. Change in mood and personality.
Ex: They become confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful, or anxious.

Early detection is key so it gives you a chance to begin drug treatment, enroll in clinical studies and plan for the future. If you or a loved one experience one or more of these signs, please schedule an appointment with a doctor. For more information, please go to www.alz.org

* Resources: The Golden Gazette, The Alzheimer’s Association