Ten Early Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease

Ten Early Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease

Laurence Tabanao Gayao, MD

Alzheimer’s disease is indeed a devastating condition, both for those who suffer from it and for their loved ones. There are 6 million American are have this illness. The disease kills more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. During the pandemic, there has been a 16% increase in Alzheimer’s disease. In 2021, the total cost of care for the disease was about 355 billion dollars and 11 million Americans provided unpaid care for patients with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

These statistics highlight the profound impact of Alzheimer’s on individuals and society as a whole. The increase in cases during the pandemic and the immense costs associated with care underscore the urgent need for advancements in treatment and support.

My experience as a practicing physician has given me a deep understanding of the challenges posed by Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. My personal connection to the disease through your family members adds another layer of complexity and emotional weight in my perspective. It is a sad and frustrating disease, because you know what it is, but you don’t know to how to prevent or treat it.

A study by a group of researchers on elderly subjects found ten early signs that appear many years before Alzheimer’s disease could be diagnosed.

As the life expectancy increases there are more and more elderly and more studies are being done to detect the initial symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Early symptoms have been observed as early  as 15 years before the onset of the disease. This is important so we could develop means to prevent or delay the problem in the future.

Indeed, despite extensive research, much about Alzheimer’s disease remains elusive. However, several key risk factors and areas of knowledge have been identified:

Known Risk Factors

1. Age: The greatest known risk factor. Most individuals with Alzheimer’s are 65 and older.
2. Genetics: Family history and specific genes, such as APOE-e4, can increase the risk.
3. Sex: Women are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than men.
4. Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): MCI can lead to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s, particularly when memory is affected.
5. Cardiovascular Health: Conditions like heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol are linked to a higher risk.
6. Lifestyle Factors: Lack of exercise, smoking, poor diet, and low educational attainment can contribute to risk.
7. Head Injuries: Traumatic brain injuries may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s.

Current Understanding

1. Pathophysiology: Alzheimer’s is characterized by the buildup of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain, leading to neuron damage and death.
2. Symptoms: Memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, and personality changes are common symptoms.
3. Diagnosis: Currently, diagnosis is based on medical history, cognitive testing, and brain imaging. Biomarker tests are being developed to detect amyloid and tau proteins in the blood or cerebrospinal fluid.
4. Treatment: There are medications that can temporarily improve symptoms, but no cure exists. Treatments focus on managing symptoms and improving quality of life.
5. Research Areas: Ongoing research is investigating the role of inflammation, gut microbiota, and lifestyle interventions in Alzheimer’s. Clinical trials are exploring new drug candidates and preventative measures.

What are common early symptom findings in Alzheimer’s?

1.     Depression

2.     Anxiety

3.     Exposure to high stress

4.     Hearing loss

5.     Constipation

6.     Degenerative disease of the spine of the neck

7.     Memory loss

8.     Fatigue

9.     Malaise

10.  Sudden weight loss

Thomas Nedelec, PHD, a researcher at the Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute, said: “The conclusions formed allowed us to confirm known connections, such as hearing problems or depression, and other lesser known causes or early symptoms, such as spondylosis of the neck or constipation. However, we only report statistical relationships.

1. First I try to practice mental hygiene. I try to adhere to the advice “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one last thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
2. I keep my mind busy. I try to daily study the Bible, search the internet of things of interest and share them so that it would would benefit people on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social mediums. I try to stay away from political and religious confrontation. The only time I do it is through Twitter and directly send my messages to those that matter, like those in government.
3. Trying to learn something new. I enjoy learning how to play the guitar, learning photography, making videos and many other things that are of interest to me.
4. I still do part time employment, thought I have to work more than I want too, because fellow physicians retire and get axed from work.
5. Good nutrition, which means eating the right kind of foods and the right amount. I avoid processed foods. I try to eat only twice a day so as not to overwork my digestive system.
6. Socialize Hanging out with family and friends not only can be fun, but research also shows it benefits your mental and physical health.
7. Diligent systematic exercise. I notice if I slack on my exercise program l develop fatigue and malaise. The more I exercise the better I feel.
8. Stay away from substances that is harmful to the brain. It is found that drinking any amount of alcohol causes damage to the brain.

I am goal driven, first of all I thank God for all he has given me, so in turn I would like to be a blessing to others to help them make the most of what the God has given them. That is what motivates in making this blog.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philippians 4:8

drgayao.com

I came out of medical school in 1971 and after residency in Family Medicine at Texas Tech University Health and Science Center I practiced for forty over years traditional medicine in the specialties of family and later in emergency medicine. All along I accept being called a health care provider. Most of what I did however was acute intervention of the results of illnesses that were mostly brought about by an unhealthy life styles. If the patient had high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, congestive heart failure, and other illnesses I prescribed them medications and mentioned that they needed to loss weight and exercise, in a perfunctory manner. Patients kept on coming back mostly getting worse with time. There was no systematic effort to alter the life styles that lead to these problems.Early in my career I studied on my own exercise physiology and nutrition, and diligently applied it till I got too busy in my profession and I gradually gained weight and eventually had elevated blood sugar and hypertension just like most of my patients. I after retirement I got back into the fitness program and delved into study of life style induced illnesses. It has made me realize as expensive and highly technologically advance our health care is, it has basically is neglecting promoting health as evidenced by the fact we in the US have the highest per capita expenditure for healthcare but our life expectancy is among the lowest among developed countries. Health business is misdirected in its focus and it is one of the largest industries in the US, good for profit for providers but bad for consumers. I now desire to share as much as possible the gospel of a healthy life style which is the key health and happiness.

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