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February/March 2006 |
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Am I Getting Alzheimer's? |
| Have you ever
left the store and can't remember where you parked your car? Does that
mean you could have Alzheimer’s? The answer is "no!" But if you forgot
that you drove to the store or if you get lost going home, then you
might have reason for concern. There are many conditions, besides
Alzheimer's, that can cause poor memory including thyroid gland
disorders, side effects of medications, head injury, depression, stroke
or a brain tumor. Usually these can be treated and reverse the causes of
memory loss. Approximately four million
Americans do have Alzheimer’s, a progressive degenerative disease.
Nineteen percent of people ages 75-85 have the disease, but 81% do not!
1. Memory loss and frequently forgetting numbers or names and not remembering them later. 2. Difficulty performing familiar tasks and/or forgetting something that you just did such as cooking a meal. 3. Problems with language. Forgetting simple words or using a term that gives the sentence no meaning. 4. Poor or decreased judgment such as dressing inappropriately. 5. Problems with abstract thinking. Numbers have no meaning and balancing the checkbook is impossible. 6. Loss of initiative. The person does not want to do normal activities. 7. Misplacing things or putting them in inappropriate places--like the eyeglasses in the freezer or rings in the flour. 8. Disorientation as to time and place, such as getting lost on your way home or not knowing how you got home. 9. Changes in mood for no reason. Mood swings are very rapid from calm to tears. 10. Drastic changes in personality: confused and suspicious. |
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Kris Jenkins jenkinsk@missouri.edu Regional Specialist Human Environmental Sciencs Last revised: 03/18/09 |