Spotting Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease

There is a common misperception that memory loss is a reliable forecast of the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. That is not true.

To be sure, loss of memory is one of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. However, simply being forgetful as one ages does not automatically mean one has Alzheimer’s. All of us are forgetful at times. The fact that one forgets the name of an old boyfriend or what he or she had for dinner last Saturday is not significant.

Memory loss that matters is of the sort that affects one’s ability to function in daily life -- as in forgetting where one lives. (A failure to recall where one left the car keys does not qualify.)

And, do note that Alzheimer’s often includes the person displaying confusion, agitation and mood, and personality changes.