Recognizing Age-related Dementia Symptoms

Throughout our lives we're asked to make allowances for age. For instance, we're often told that senior family members -- a grandparent or an elderly parent, perhaps -- can be forgetful. However, sometimes that exhibited forgetfulness may be rather unusual -- as when the relative goes to the trouble of cooking a meal and then forgets to serve it. Such an incident suggests the older relative is having problems with familiar tasks, and that can be a symptom of age-related dementias like Alzheimer's disease.

Common Symptoms
We care deeply about our older loved ones, so we need to be aware of the symptoms of age-related mental conditions such as Alzheimer's. Other common symptoms an individual may demonstrate include:

• Recent memory loss. They may ask the same question over and over, even though you answered it.
• Language problems, such as forgetting simple words or using the wrong words.
• Time and place disorientation, e.g., getting lost on their own street, forgetting how to get back home.
• Exercising poor judgment, such as leaving a young child unattended for a long period of time.
• Problems with abstract thinking, e.g., when performing a task like balancing the checkbook, they forget what numbers are and how to use them.
• Misplacing things and putting them in the wrong places, like putting an appliance in the refrigerator.
• Inappropriate dress and behavior, such as going out for a walk or to the store in a bathrobe.
• Rapid mood swings and sudden personality changes, going from joy to tears to anger in just minutes, becoming suspicious of loved ones.
• Loss of initiative, not wanting to go places or see other people.

Real Symptoms vs. Treatable Causes
However, it is important to understand that someone suffering from an age-related disorder may not exhibit all of the most common symptoms. At the same time, an apparent symptom does not automatically mean the family member has been stricken with an age-related dementia. The symptoms may stem from a treatable cause such as prescription drug interactions. Other treatable causes include:

• The combined effect of weight loss/gain and medications
• Dehydration
• Vitamin B-12 deficiency
• Falls and concussions
• Depression
• Alcohol use

Next Steps
The forgetfulness or disorientation your loved one exhibits may or not be a sign of Alzheimer's. To be certain, you should take him or her for a medical examination. Using a test or series of tests, physicians can determine the true cause of the symptoms. Some of the medical tests include:

• An evaluation of memory and mental skills.
• A physical exam, including a review of family medical history.
• A nutritional evaluation to determine if dietary problems or improper eating habits may be
  causing the problem.
• Blood tests, including tests for vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiencies, thyroid hormone
  imbalances, anemia, etc.
• An electroencephalogram (EEG).
• A neurological exam to rule out other disorders of the brain such as Parkinson's disease,
  strokes and mini-strokes, brain tumors, etc.
• Brain Scan (CT or MRI).