Preparing For Early Onset Ad
Receiving an early onset AD diagnosis can be worrying. Now is the time to put together a plan so that you have peace of mind for the future when symptoms appear or intensify.
Try creating a plan together with your family, friends, and medical team. It can also be beneficial to meet with a financial planner and a lawyer.
Here are some key things to consider:
- Education. You may find it helpful to learn more about AD and how it progresses. Talk with your doctor and learn about what your care plan could look like in the future.
- Health insurance. Find out which medications and treatments are covered by your plan.
- Future care costs. What will your medical and care expenses be? This may include professional home care of safety equipment for the home.
- Disability insurance. What is covered by your employer? What documentation is needed?
- Loss of income. Will you be able to keep working? If so, for how long? Will someone in your family need to stop working in order to become a caregiver?
- Power of attorney. Who will have the authority to make health, financial, and legal decisions for you when you cant any more?
- Support. Try finding a support group specifically for people with early onset AD and their caregivers. Their life situations are likely to be more similar to yours.
Its important to have a detailed, realistic plan for your future care. This will allow you to be more confident as you navigate through the stages of AD.
A Failing Sense Of Direction
A persons sense of direction and spatial orientation commonly starts to get worse with the onset of dementia. They may have difficulty recognizing once-familiar landmarks and forget how to get to familiar places they used to have no trouble finding.
It may also become more difficult to follow a series of directions and step-by-step instructions.
Difficulty Finding The Right Words
Another early symptom of dementia is difficulty with communicating thoughts. A person with dementia may have a hard time explaining something or finding the right words to express themselves. They may also stop in the middle of a sentence and not know how to continue.
Having a conversation with a person who has dementia can be challenging, and it may take longer than usual for them to express their thoughts or feelings.
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The Basics Of Alzheimers Disease
Scientists are conducting studies to learn more about plaques, tangles, and other biological features of Alzheimers disease. Advances in brain imaging techniques allow researchers to see the development and spread of abnormal amyloid and tau proteins in the living brain, as well as changes in brain structure and function. Scientists are also exploring the very earliest steps in the disease process by studying changes in the brain and body fluids that can be detected years before Alzheimers symptoms appear. Findings from these studies will help in understanding the causes of Alzheimers and make diagnosis easier.
One of the great mysteries of Alzheimers disease is why it largely affects older adults. Research on normal brain aging is exploring this question. For example, scientists are learning how age-related changes in the brain may harm neurons and affect other types of brain cells to contribute to Alzheimers damage. These age-related changes include atrophy of certain parts of the brain, inflammation, blood vessel damage, production of unstable molecules called free radicals, and mitochondrial dysfunction .
What Are The Risk Factors
We do not know fully the risk factors for developing young onset dementia. For many people, it just seems to develop. In a proportion of younger people, there is a familial link. Individuals who have at least one close relative with dementia have a two to four times greater risk of developing dementia before the age of 65, most commonly Alzheimers disease. The effect is stronger for those where the close relative had young onset dementia.
A second major risk factor is Downs syndrome. Up to three-quarters of people with Downs syndrome over the age of 50 will develop dementia . This problem is increasingly evident as people with Downs syndrome are living longer now.
In addition, people from black and minority ethnic groups under the age of 65 years seem more likely to be diagnosed with dementia.
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Problems Writing Or Speaking
The person may also have difficulty with words and communication. They could find it hard to follow or contribute to a conversation, or they may repeat themselves. The person may also have difficulty writing down their thoughts.
They could stop in the middle of a conversation, unable to figure out what to say next. They may also struggle to find the right word, or label things incorrectly.
It is not uncommon for people to occasionally struggle to find the right word. Typically, they eventually remember it and do not experience the problem frequently.
What Are The Early Signs And Symptoms Of Alzheimer’s Disease
Now that we’ve discussed the scientific definitions, let’s turn to the warning signs. According to the experts at the Alzheimer’s Association, there are 10 major early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s to watch out for, and they are as follows:
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Decreased Or Poor Judgement
Changes in decision-making or judgement might include dealing with money or paying less attention to keeping clean and groomed. This can be one of the more obvious parts of your observation list for early signs of dementia.
Look out for signs that your parent might not be looking after themselves the way they used to. They may forget to wash regularly, wear the same clothes continuously throughout the week, forget to brush their teeth, forget to brush their hair, shave or to visit the toilet.
Its vital to make sure your parent is keeping up with any regular appointments they may have. Make sure theyre keeping up with their health and hygiene routines with our guide to Keeping Healthy.
This is differentto: making a bad decision once in a while.
Early Signs Of Dementia And How To Spot Them
Spotting the early signs of Dementia can make all the difference as if it is diagnosed early, there is a chance that medication will slow down the diseases that cause the damage to the brain.
Weve put together a handy list of the early signs of dementia for you to look out for and some specific symptoms you can monitor.
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Difficulty In Calculating Numbers And Handling Money Or Balancing The Cheque Book
Consistent financial problems and money struggles are high on the early signs of dementia checklist. These dementia symptoms include changes in an ability to develop and follow a plan or work with numbers. This could include:
- Spending money more frivolously than usual
- Having difficult following a recipe with measurements
- Being uncharacteristically generous with money
- Struggling to keep track of monthly bills
If youre concerned about your parents ability to handle their finances, read our guide on protecting their legal and financial situation.
This is different to: common age-related issues such as missing a couple of debt repayments due to low income, making occasional errors with number calculations.
Attention And Language Impairment
While memory challenges can be involved in early onset Alzheimers, signs that something could be wrong can be much broader. In fact, experts note that memory loss, which is closely associated with Alzheimers, may actually be less prominent in people with early onset Alzheimers.
Instead, people with early onset Alzheimers often complain about difficulties finding words in conversation. They can experience problems with attention and orientation, as well as with simple math.
In the aggregate, patients with early-onset Alzheimers Disease, compared to similarly impaired patients with late-onset Alzheimers Disease, have better memory recognition scores and semantic memory but worse attention, language, executive functions, ideomotor praxis, and visuospatial skills, a research paper by Dr. Mario Mendez noted.
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Dementia Is Depressing But You Dont Have To Be Depressed
Dementia isnt a specific disease, but rather a general term to describe any decline in brain function that affects memory, language, and other cognitive abilities, and that is serious enough to interfere with daily life.
Alzheimers disease is the most common type of dementia, accounting for 60 to 80 percent of all dementia cases.
What Causes Alzheimers Disease
In recent years, scientists have made tremendous progress in better understanding Alzheimers and the momentum continues to grow. Still, scientists dont yet fully understand what causes Alzheimers disease in most people. In people with early-onset Alzheimers, a genetic mutation may be the cause. Late-onset Alzheimers arises from a complex series of brain changes that may occur over decades. The causes probably include a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. The importance of any one of these factors in increasing or decreasing the risk of developing Alzheimers may differ from person to person.
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How Does Young Onset Alzheimers Disease Differ From Late Onset Disease
The first thing that should be clearly stated is that, just as no two people are the same, no two individuals with Alzheimers disease show the same symptoms, even if the disease started at the same age. Nevertheless, there are some differences between young onset and late onset Alzheimers disease.
People with typical, late onset Alzheimers disease starting at age 65 or older show the combination of changes in thinking and memory due to Alzheimers disease plus those changes that are part of normal aging. The parts of the brain that change the most in normal aging are the frontal lobes. The frontal lobes are responsible for many different cognitive functions, including working memory the ability to keep information in ones head and manipulate it and insight into the problems that one is having.
This means that, in relation to cognitive function, people with young onset Alzheimers disease may show relatively isolated problems with their episodic memory the ability to form new memories to remember the recent episodes of their lives. People with late onset Alzheimers disease show problems with episodic memory, working memory, and insight. So, you would imagine that life is tougher for those with late onset Alzheimers disease, right?
Withdrawing From Work And Social Life
People with early onset Alzheimers, who were once industrious and focused at their challenging jobs, may begin noticing a drop in concentration, motivation or productivity thats out of character for them. They may also find themselves isolating from family, friends, coworkers or hobbies that they used to previously enjoy.
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Support For Family And Friends
Currently, many people living with Alzheimers disease are cared for at home by family members. Caregiving can have positive aspects for the caregiver as well as the person being cared for. It may bring personal fulfillment to the caregiver, such as satisfaction from helping a family member or friend, and lead to the development of new skills and improved family relationships.
Although most people willingly provide care to their loved ones and friends, caring for a person with Alzheimers disease at home can be a difficult task and may become overwhelming at times. Each day brings new challenges as the caregiver copes with changing levels of ability and new patterns of behavior. As the disease gets worse, people living with Alzheimers disease often need more intensive care.
You can find more information about caring for yourself and access a helpful care planning form.
What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Alzheimers
Memory problems are often one of the first signs of Alzheimers. Symptoms vary from person to person, and may include problems with:
- Word-finding, or having more trouble coming up with words than other people the same age.
- Vision and spatial issues, like awareness of the space around them.
- Impaired reasoning or judgment, which can impact decisions.
Other symptoms may be changes in the persons behavior, including:
- Taking longer to complete normal daily tasks.
- Repeating questions.
- Trouble handling money and paying bills.
- Wandering and getting lost.
- Losing things or misplacing them in odd places.
- Mood and personality changes.
- Increased anxiety and/or aggression.
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Complications Of Alzheimers Disease
In advanced stages of Alzheimers disease, complications from severe loss of brain function can include dehydration, malnutrition, or infection.
One common complication is difficulty swallowing , which can result in food or drink being aspirated into the lungs, potentially causing pneumonia. Pneumonia is a common cause of death for people with severe Alzheimers, notes the Mayo Clinic.
What To Do If You Suspect Alzheimers Disease
Getting checked by your healthcare provider can help determine if the symptoms you are experiencing are related to Alzheimers disease, or a more treatable conditions such as a vitamin deficiency or a side effect from medication. Early and accurate diagnosis also provides opportunities for you and your family to consider financial planning, develop advance directives, enroll in clinical trials, and anticipate care needs.
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Memory Loss That Impedes Daily Activities
The most noticeable symptom of Alzheimers disease is often memory loss . A person may start forgetting messages or recent events in a way that is unusual for them. They may repeat questions, having forgotten either the answer or the fact that they already asked.
It is not uncommon for people to forget things as they get older, but with early onset Alzheimers disease, this happens earlier in life, occurs more often, and seems out of character.
The Various Causes Of Early
The Dutch study found that overall, Alzheimers disease was the most common cause of young-onset dementia. But when symptoms developed before age 50, early-onset Alzheimers was a less likely explanation than two other causes: vascular dementia and frontotemporal dementia.
Vascular dementia results from a blockage or injury to blood vessels in the brain that interfere with circulation and deprive the brain of oxygen and nutrients. Its most common symptoms, in addition to memory problems, are confusion, difficulty concentrating, trouble organizing thoughts or tasks, and slowed thinking.
In frontotemporal dementia, portions of the brain that lie behind the forehead and ears shrink, resulting in dramatic personality changes, socially inappropriate or impulsive behavior and emotional indifference. Movement and memory problems typically develop later in the course of the disease. According to the Mayo Clinic, frontotemporal dementia often begins between the ages of 40 and 65 and may be misdiagnosed as a psychiatric problem.
Alzheimers disease remains the most common cause of dementia in younger as well as older adults. There is an inherited form of Alzheimers that typically arises at younger ages, but those cases account for fewer than 10 percent of young-onset disease. Most cases of Alzheimers occur sporadically, for unknown reasons, though genetic factors may increase risk.
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Other Forms Of Dementia Common In Younger People
Younger people are more susceptible to other, more unusual forms of dementia . Some examples are fronto-temporal dementia , Korsakoffs syndrome and HIV-related dementia.
Each form of dementia has characteristic symptoms, as well as more general symptoms of dementia. For example, fronto-temporal dementia affects the frontal lobe and/or the temporal parts of the brain, which deal with behaviour, emotional responses and language skills. If this part of the brain is damaged, a person may start to display inappropriate, disinhibited behaviour, such as swearing loudly and often. People with Lewy body dementia may experience visual hallucinations, irregular sleep patterns and falls. If care staff know this sort of information, they are far better equipped to respond to the particular needs of the individuals they are working with.
Dementia can be more severe in a younger person and is often associated with physical symptoms and rapid progression. This is particularly the case with rare forms of dementia such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and HIV-related dementia.
To find out more about these and other forms of dementia go to the Alzheimers Society website and see its factsheet on Younger people with dementia.
What Is Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible brain disorder. It is a progressive condition that causes issues with memory, cognition, and behavior.
It was first discovered in 1906 by Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist. He examined the brain of a woman who had died following symptoms including memory loss, language problems, and altered behavior. He found unusual clumps in her brain, known as amyloid plaques, as well as tangles in her brain fibers that are some of the main features of Alzheimer’s disease.
Since this initial discovery, many other complex changes in the brain have been discovered among people suffering from disease, including the loss of connection between neurons.
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