More than five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, and with rates increasing by roughly one person each minute, that number is projected to triple within the next 3 to 4 decades. Alarmingly, there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s but experts say that early diagnosis and early intervention can provide patients with the best options and outlook. A great deal of misinformation about Alzheimer’s exists online, which leads some to miss their diagnosis. The Alzheimer’s Association has put together a list of the ten most critical warning signs that indicate a possible Alzheimer’s diagnosis. These warning signs include personality and mood changes, difficulties performing routine tasks in daily life, frequent confusion, and disruptive memory loss, among others.
Key Takeaways:
- Rates of Alzheimer’s among American adults are on the rise, as across the nation, roughly one person per minute develops the brain disease
- At the 2013 Alzheimer’s International Conference, experts found that, troublingly, many online tests claiming to test for and diagnose Alzheimer’s disease essentially amount to junk science
- The Alzheimer’s Association has published a list of 10 warning signs that point to the potential presence of Alzheimer’s disease in those who exhibit the listed symptoms
“Ask any expert, and he or she will tell you that early diagnosis is key to helping patients live better day to day, so even though the disease is still progressing, the symptoms are less harsh.”
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/18/health/alzheimers-warning-signs/index.html