First Warning Sign of Alzheimer’s

New research reveals a surprising early symptom of Alzheimer’s. This problem crops up long before any clinical diagnosis of the disease.
We’ve all heard the stories of the grandma who got lost on her way home from the grocery store, or the great uncle who relies on GPS for the drive to his weekly doctor’s appointment, but now there’s research to back up the anecdotal evidence that trouble finding your way around may indicate a much bigger problem.
Problems navigating new surroundings crop up before memory loss, and long before any clinical diagnosis of the disease, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 
Researchers at Washington University in St Louis asked study participants to use patterns and landmarks to make their way through a maze on a computer, the Huffington Post reports. The individuals were divided into three groups: early-stage Alzheimer’s patients, undiagnosed people with early markers for Alzheimer’s, considered ‘preclinical Alzheimer’s’, and a control group of clinically normal people. The study showed that individuals with preclinical Alzheimer’s had more difficulty learning the locations of objects.
“These findings suggest that the way finding difficulties experienced by people with preclinical Alzheimer’s disease are in part related to trouble acquiring the environmental information,” said senior author Denise Head, associate professor of psychological and brain sciences.
While Head cautioned that the study has limitations, she explained that navigational tasks that assess cognitive mapping strategy “could represent a powerful tool for detecting the very earliest Alzheimer’s disease-related changes in cognition.”
Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disorder that results in memory loss, impaired thinking, difficulty finding the right word when speaking, and personality changes. Its course is marked by a continual loss of neurons (nerve cells) and their connections with other neurons (synapses) that are crucial to memory and other mental functions. In advanced Alzheimer’s disease, the dramatic loss of neurons causes the brain to shrink.
Levels of brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters, which carry complex messages among billions of nerve cells, are also diminished. After the symptoms first appear, people live anywhere from two to 20 years in an increasingly dependent state that exacts a staggering emotional, physical, and economic toll on families.
There is no cure and little that can be done by way of prevention. But early diagnosis is important because drugs are available that may temporarily stabilize or delay worsening of cognitive symptoms, and they work best in the early stages of the disease.
The medical profession used to consider Alzheimer’s disease a rare disorder that struck in middle age. This assumption was based on a report published in 1907 by a German doctor named Alois Alzheimer. During an autopsy, Alzheimer discovered microscopic changes — including abnormal neurons, tangled fibers, and clusters of nerve endings — in the brain of a 51-year-old patient who had died of progressive dementia. The report attracted attention within the medical community, and thereafter, progressive dementia in a person younger than 65 was called ‘Alzheimer’s disease’.
Doctors used to believe dementia in people over age 65 was caused by cerebral atherosclerosis, or hardening of the brain’s arteries, and it was labeled ‘senile dementia’. But attitudes began to change in the 1970s. Evidence accumulating from autopsy studies suggested that Alzheimer’s disease was, in fact, the most common cause of dementia in older persons. With the 1984 publication of diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer’s and other irreversible dementias, physicians began diagnosing the disease more frequently. 
Regardless of age, everyone experiences occasional episodes of forgetfulness. Many people fear that a growing number of such lapses are a sure sign of Alzheimer’s, but there are important differences between simple forgetfulness and dementia. A third state, called mild cognitive impairment, falls in between normal memory function and dementia. People with mild cognitive impairment are more likely to develop dementia.
The risk of Alzheimer’s rises steadily with age. One in eight people ages 65 and older is affected, and nearly half of those who live to age 85 have Alzheimer’s.
Of course, Alzheimer’s affects a far greater number of people, for it takes a toll on loved ones as well as those with the disease. Most people with Alzheimer’s disease are cared for at home by spouses or other family members, sometimes for five years or longer. In many cases, this results in financial as well as emotional strain. 

Source: msn.com

First Warning Sign of Alzheimers

New research reveals a surprising early symptom of Alzheimers. This problem crops up long before any clinical diagnosis of the disease. Weve all heard the stories of the grandma who got lost on her way home from the grocery store, or the great uncle who relies on GPS for the drive to his weekly doctors appointment, but now theres research to back up the anecdotal evidence that trouble finding your way around may indicate a much bigger problem. Problems navigating new surroundings crop up before memory loss, and long before any clinical diagnosis of the disease, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Alzheimers Disease. Researchers at Washington University in St Louis asked study participants to use patterns and landmarks to make their way through a maze on a computer, the Huffington Post reports. The individuals were divided into three groups: early-stage Alzheimers patients, undiagnosed people with early markers for Alzheimers, considered preclinical Alzheimers, and a control group of clinically normal people. The study showed that individuals with preclinical Alzheimers had more difficulty learning the locations of objects. These findings suggest that the way finding difficulties experienced by people with preclinical Alzheimers disease are in part related to trouble acquiring the environmental information, said senior author Denise Head, associate professor of psychological and brain sciences. While Head cautioned that the study has limitations, she explained that navigational tasks that assess cognitive mapping strategy could represent a powerful tool for detecting the very earliest Alzheimers disease-related changes in cognition. Alzheimers disease is a degenerative brain disorder that results in memory loss, impaired thinking, difficulty finding the right word when speaking, and personality changes. Its course is marked by a continual loss of neurons (nerve cells) and their connections with other neurons (synapses) that are crucial to memory and other mental functions. In advanced Alzheimers disease, the dramatic loss of neurons causes the brain to shrink. Levels of brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters, which carry complex messages among billions of nerve cells, are also diminished. After the symptoms first appear, people live anywhere from two to 20 years in an increasingly dependent state that exacts a staggering emotional, physical, and economic toll on families. There is no cure and little that can be done by way of prevention. But early diagnosis is important because drugs are available that may temporarily stabilize or delay worsening of cognitive symptoms, and they work best in the early stages of the disease. The medical profession used to consider Alzheimers disease a rare disorder that struck in middle age. This assumption was based on a report published in 1907 by a German doctor named Alois Alzheimer. During an autopsy, Alzheimer discovered microscopic changes including abnormal neurons, tangled fibers, and clusters of nerve endings in the brain of a 51-year-old patient who had died of progressive dementia. The report attracted attention within the medical community, and thereafter, progressive dementia in a person younger than 65 was called Alzheimers disease. Doctors used to believe dementia in people over age 65 was caused by cerebral atherosclerosis, or hardening of the brains arteries, and it was labeled senile dementia. But attitudes began to change in the 1970s. Evidence accumulating from autopsy studies suggested that Alzheimers disease was, in fact, the most common cause of dementia in older persons. With the 1984 publication of diagnostic criteria for Alzheimers and other irreversible dementias, physicians began diagnosing the disease more frequently. Regardless of age, everyone experiences occasional episodes of forgetfulness. Many people fear that a growing number of such lapses are a sure sign of Alzheimers, but there are important differences between simple forgetfulness and dementia. A third state, called mild cognitive impairment, falls in between normal memory function and dementia. People with mild cognitive impairment are more likely to develop dementia. The risk of Alzheimers rises steadily with age. One in eight people ages 65 and older is affected, and nearly half of those who live to age 85 have Alzheimers. Of course, Alzheimers affects a far greater number of people, for it takes a toll on loved ones as well as those with the disease. Most people with Alzheimers disease are cared for at home by spouses or other family members, sometimes for five years or longer. In many cases, this results in financial as well as emotional strain. Source: msn.com