My 60-year old aunt has been showing some signs which make us think she has Alzheimer’s disease. The first sign is forgetfulness. She’d forget what day and time we were coming over, despite several discussions. She was having trouble tracking medication. She would forget visits and phone calls. She would forget she’d spent money or been to the store. We started getting many calls a day confused about all kinds of things.
She started having trouble understanding the calendar, numbers, telling time. She literally did not know that Tuesday was the day after Monday, that 3 came after 2, that March was before April. Kindly let me know if this is Alzheimer’s disease and if so, what to do about it.
Chioma (by SMS)
An abnormal build-up of proteins in your brain causes Alzheimer’s disease. The build-up of these proteins — amyloid protein and tau protein — causes brain cells to die. The human brain contains over 100 billion nerve cells and other cells. The nerve cells work together to fulfill all the communications needed to perform functions such as thinking, learning, remembering and planning.
Researchers don’t know why some people get Alzheimer’s disease and others don’t. But they’ve identified several factors that increase your risk for Alzheimer’s, including genetic (hereditary) factors. If you have a first-degree relative (biological parent or sibling) with Alzheimer’s disease, your risk of developing the condition increases by 10% to 30%. People with two or more siblings with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease are three times more likely to develop the condition than the general population.
There’s no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but certain medications can temporarily slow the worsening of dementia symptoms. Medications as prescribed by your doctor and other interventions can also help with behavioral symptoms.
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