If your mom suddenly keeps misplacing her keys or your grandfather persistently calls you by your sister’s name, your mind might automatically jump to Alzheimer’s disease. But are these kinds of symptoms actually early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, or does it present differently in the beginning stages?
In the earliest stage of Alzheimer’s disease, people actually don’t exhibit any symptoms at all.
Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disorder that happens in phases, slowly destroying a person’s memory, cognitive functions, and eventually many physical abilities as well. The condition happens in five different stages, starting with what’s known as preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. This is when a person isn’t showing any signs of the condition, but their brain is undergoing changes that will eventually cause symptoms.
During this time, protein deposits in the brain form abnormal clumps that interrupt the way brain cells communicate, the Mayo Clinic explains. The brain also begins to create tangled bundles of the fibers necessary for transporting materials essential for proper brain function, like nutrients. These changes mean that neurons that used to be healthy stop functioning, lose connections with other neurons, and die, according to the National Institute on Aging (NIA).
There’s a lot scientists still don’t know about Alzheimer’s disease, but it’s believed that this damage to a person’s brain can start 10 years or more before symptoms appear, according to the Mayo Clinic.
It may seem like memory issues would be the earliest sign of Alzheimer’s. They can be, but many people with the condition actually experience problems with other cognitive functions first.
The second stage of Alzheimer’s—but the first where people show symptoms—is known as mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease, the Mayo Clinic explains.
Signs of this often include problems finding the right words, issues accurately processing visual or spatial information, and impaired reasoning or judgment, the NIA says. However, in this stage it is also possible to have memory lapses and be unable to recall things like recent chats or upcoming appointments that were made recently, the Mayo Clinic says.
“These [symptoms] can be easy to miss or write off,” Scott Kaiser, M.D., a family physician and geriatrician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, tells SELF, because at this point they aren’t severe enough to affect a person’s daily life.
As the disease progresses to “mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease,” which is when people are usually diagnosed, symptoms become more varied and intense.
“We look for more consistent trends in terms of things getting worse over a somewhat shorter period of time,” Ian M. Grant, M.D., a behavioral neurologist at the Mesulam Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, tells SELF.
For instance, someone might begin asking the same questions about something they recently learned because they keep forgetting the answer, the Mayo Clinic says. More severe issues with problem-solving and decision-making can lead to a tougher time with important tasks like balancing a checkbook or sticking to a budget. People may also begin to feel increasingly unfamiliar in their surroundings and wander in search of a place that feels more recognizable, possibly getting lost.
This is also the time when personality changes may begin to appear, the Mayo Clinic says. A person with Alzheimer’s might experience more anxiety or anger, for instance.
Again, there’s a lot that experts still don’t understand about Alzheimer’s disease, but the reason for these different symptoms likely depends on where the damage has taken place in a person’s brain, Dr. Kaiser says. For example, if someone has damage to their frontal lobe, which controls personality among other things, they may experience irritability, mood changes, and difficulty regulating their behavior, he says. Visual and spatial problems may be due to the disease building up in the occipital lobe, which is important for vision processing, Dr. Grant says.
If you suspect that a loved one is exhibiting early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, it’s important to see a doctor as soon as possible.
Getting checked out can alleviate a lot of stress and identify any underlying, non-Alzheimer’s issues that might be causing the symptoms. It could be that the symptoms are due to something potentially reversible. For instance, elderly people are at higher risk of subdural hematoma, which is brain bleeding that can happen after a fall, the Mayo Clinic says.
If the symptoms are actually due to Alzheimer’s, getting a proper diagnosis can help someone start treatment as quickly as possible, which is really essential when it comes to this illness.
Several medications have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat symptoms of Alzheimer’s, and they may even help slow the disease’s progression, the NIA says. The drugs work by impacting neurotransmitters, the chemicals that transmit messages between neurons, and may help reduce symptoms, the NIA says. However, they can’t offer a cure.
There are also many active clinical trials that are taking place in the search for promising Alzheimer’s treatments, the NIA explains. Many focus on the early stages of the disease, so that is the ideal time to start expressing interest in participating.
Finally, getting an Alzheimer’s diagnosis as early as possible is of the essence because it allows a person to get their affairs in order and line up help they may need, Dr. Grant says. This will generally help them plan how they can make the most of the time they have left. It might be tough to even think about this for a loved one, let alone help them get it done—but it only becomes harder the longer you wait.
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