Alzheimer’s begins with mild memory problems, attention lapses and difficulty in recalling words. As the disease progresses simple tasks become difficult to perform. Long-term memories begin to fade, familiar faces become unrecognizable, and abrupt changes in personality become noticeable.
The brain of people with Alzheimer’s disease also shows changes. Nerve cells die in areas of the brain that are critical to memory and other mental abilities, thereby disturbing the connections between nerve cells in the brain. It also causes lower levels of some of the chemicals in the brain that carry messages back and forth between nerve cells. AD may impair thinking and memory by disrupting these messages.
There is no cure for AD, and the secrets to preventing it are not yet known. Recent research has found promising clues about the origins and development of
the disease. These findings raise hope that someday soon it will be possible to delay the onset of AD, slow its progress or even prevent it altogether. Delaying the disease by 5 years would reduce the number of people who will suffer its devastating effects by almost half.
