September is World Alzheimer’s Month

Sep 26, 2020

127

World Alzheimer’s Month, an international campaign by Alzheimer’s Disease International, is observed every year on Sept. 21 to raise awareness of dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease is named after the late Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German neuropathologist who first described the disease of the brain in a patient in 1906.

In 2010 the “Silver Tsunami” arrived as more than 40 million American baby boomers turned 65.

As more of them approach retirement, the number of people suffering with the neurodegenerative condition that causes dementia increases. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 5 million Americans live with the progressive disease, with more than 16 million adults spending about 18.6 billion hours providing them with unpaid care.

A few noticeable differences between normal aging and signs of early dementia:

Daily life activities like driving, using the telephone and shopping. No problems getting these tasks done as before. With early dementia the person may experience confusion or inability to complete a task without reminders or help.
Changes in behavior and personality. A change in temperament. Communication issues. Loss of existing vocabulary. Difficulty making decisions.
Stowing away items they think are valuable. Gives the person a sense of control. Enables them to feel like they’re doing something to manage their situation.
Vision. Since Alzheimer’s patients are usually elderly, their sight might be going naturally in any case. But a non-Alzheimer’s patient should still be able to judge the distance of certain things or the passage of time. When Alzheimer’s strikes, however, this cognitive function is among the first to go.

Other unfortunate symptoms of this visual-spatial weakness include a loss of focus in reading and not being able to work out words. They may not be able to discern one color from the other, which can lead to more risks.

While Alzheimer’s and other kinds of dementia are responsible for many cases of memory loss, the good news is there are other non-permanent factors.

If you or a loved one are experiencing any changes in mood or behavior check with your doctor. Early detection is key for any illness. Additional information can be found at MayoClinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/symptoms or VeryWellMind.com/what-causes-memory-loss-4123636.

Joan Koczor is a senior advocate and a member of the Age-Friendly Maricopa Advisory Committee.

What causes us to forget?

What prevents us from mentally storing that piece of information or being able to recall it? Here are some of the many reasons we can’t remember: