Скачать или смотреть Science 5: Alzheimer's disease: early warning of cognitive decline and strategies to combat it

The high prevalence of Alzheimer's disease, a condition commonly seen in people over the age of 80, is a cause for concern. One in three senior citizens may be afflicted by it. Early identification and intervention is crucial. Here are the top 10 warning signs of the condition:

Memory loss: Initially, it manifests as recent memory loss, such as forgetting the name of the person on the other end of the line just after answering the phone, asking the same question over and over again, or frequently searching for items that have been placed. It is worth noting that patients tend to remain clear about distant memories, which makes it easy to misjudge their cognitive status.
Difficulty performing everyday tasks: familiar tasks become difficult, such as cooking, paying bills, or driving, which are signs of cognitive decline.
Difficulty with verbal expression: difficulty finding words, slurred speech, or even answering questions that are not meant to be answered, and difficulty understanding what others are talking about.
Confusion of time and place: forgetting the date and time, often missing appointments, or even getting lost, indicating impaired spatial and temporal perception.
Impaired judgement: frequent mistakes in activities such as finances and driving, misjudgement of colors and distances, which may be accompanied by hallucinations.
Decreased comprehension: difficulty in accepting new things, inability to understand new technology or complex information, often misplacing things and blaming others.
Mood and behavioral changes: high mood swings, irritability, anxiety, depression, sudden personality changes, loss of interest, reluctance to socialize.
Psycho-behavioral symptoms (BPSD): 70-90% of patients will experience such symptoms, such as aggressiveness, delusions, sleep disorders, etc., which seriously affect the quality of life.
In order to effectively prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease, it is necessary to adopt the strategy of ‘early detection, early intervention, early diagnosis and early treatment’. This year, the Alzheimer's Disease International Congress emphasised the importance of managing risk factors from childhood onwards, including educational attainment, hearing protection, lipid management, depression prevention, physical activity, diabetes control, smoking and alcohol cessation.