Symptoms

The early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) may be overlooked because they resemble signs of natural aging. Older adults who begin to notice a persistent mild memory loss of recent events may have a condition called mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI is now believed to be a significant sign of early-stage Alzheimer’s in older people. Studies now suggest that older individuals who experience such mild memory abnormalities can later develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease may include:

• Forgetfulness (particularly of recent events or information)
• Loss of concentration (having trouble planning or completing familiar tasks, difficulty with abstract thinking such as simple arithmetic problems)
• Language problems (forgetting the names of objects, mixing up words, difficulty completing sentences)
• Confusion about time and place (difficulty recognizing familiar neighborhoods or remembering how you arrived at a location, confusion about months or seasons )
• Impaired judgment (dressing inappropriately or making poor financial decisions)
• Impaired movement and coordination (slowing of movements, halting gait, reduced sense of balance)
• Mood and behavior changes (rapid mood swings, emotional outbursts, personality changes, increased fear or suspicion)
• Apathy and depression (loss of interest in activities, increased sleeping, sitting in front of the television for long periods of time)

Review Date: 12/21/2006
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.

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