Recently, Mr. Zhang, who is over seventy, has been experiencing some significant changes in his daily life. He often misplaces items and struggles to remember what he was doing just moments before. There have been multiple instances where he left the kitchen running the faucet while cooking or washing vegetables. Additionally, he has become increasingly irritable, leaving his children puzzled about why their usually gentle father has become so easily provoked. After undergoing a comprehensive medical examination, the underlying cause of these changes was identified: Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by cognitive impairments, behavioral abnormalities, and diminished social functioning. This illness typically begins subtly, and current medical technologies cannot cure it. Fortunately, Alzheimer’s progresses in stages, and early detection is crucial. If we can recognize early signs and intervene promptly through screening and diagnosis, we can effectively slow the disease’s progression and help patients maintain a good quality of life for an extended period after the onset. Families should be alert to specific warning signs.
One of the first signs can be a decline in memory. This might manifest as frequently forgetting recent conversations or tasks, struggling to handle familiar work and daily responsibilities, having difficulty using appliances or making phone calls, or regularly misplacing items.
In clinical practice, some family members assume that memory decline in the elderly is a normal part of aging. Others believe that if an older person can clearly recall events from many years ago, their memory is fine. In reality, the early stages of Alzheimer’s primarily affect short-term memory, while long-term memories may still be intact. However, as the disease progresses, long-term memory can also decline, complicating cognitive functions such as calculation, orientation, and spatial abilities. Without timely intervention, cognitive deficits can significantly increase the challenges associated with clinical treatment and daily care, and patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s may even become disoriented or go missing.
Another area often affected is language and communication skills. Patients may struggle to find the right words during conversations, have difficulty expressing their thoughts accurately, or make frequent errors in speech—often without even realizing it or being able to correct themselves. This differs greatly from younger individuals occasionally making mistakes due to being busy or distracted. Patients might also find it hard to understand newspapers, television, or conversations around them.
Emotional and behavioral changes are also common. Individuals may become less active, feel lonely, lose interest in their surroundings, show indifference toward family members, experience mood swings, or display irritability. They can exhibit unexplained feelings of sadness or fear, become suspicious or paranoid, or withdraw from social activities.
If older adults show any of these signs, it is advisable for family members to bring them to a qualified medical institution for a thorough examination to ensure early detection, diagnosis, and treatment.
Author: Wang Huali, member of the National Health Science Popularization Expert Database, Executive Director of the Memory Disorder Diagnosis and Treatment Center at Peking University Sixth Hospital
Text Editor: Wang Qianhui
Plan: Zheng Yingfan, Wang Ning
Editor: Li Runze
