What is Alzheimer's disease?

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurologic disorder that causes atrophy of the brain, kills brain cells and destroys mental functions. Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia, it results in a decline in thinking, social and behavioral skills, affecting the person's ability to be able to do normal activities independently.

Causes of Alzheimers disease

• Ageing

• Family medical history, having a parent or sibling with Alzheimer’s increases your likelihood of developing the disease

• Head injury

• Having Down syndrome

• Sedentary lifestyle with no exercise

• Not sleeping well

• Being overweight or obese

• Having hypertension or high blood pressure

• Having high cholesterol levels

• Poorly managed type 2 diabetes

What are the early signs and symptoms?

The signs of Alzheimer's develop quite slowly. The time gap between the start of Alzheimer's disease and death can be from 5 to 20 years. The symptoms during the early stages of Alzheimer's include

Inability to perform daily tasks

• Frequent mood changes, irritability and anxiety

• Short term memory loss

• Difficulty in processing information

• Being confused about time and place

• Difficulties in communicating

Symptoms during the development and progression of Alzheimer's disease

• Constantly increasing short term memory loss

• State of perpetual confusion

• Not recognising family and friends

• Shorter attention span

• Feeling restless

• Difficulty in reading, writing, understanding numbers

• Appetite loss

• Frequent aggression and significant mood swings

As the diseases progresses towards the later stages, the below mentioned symptoms may occur

• Difficulty in talking or Inability to understand

• Inability to control urination or defecation

• Not able to recognise family members or self

• Serious disorientation

• Difficulty in movement

• Having trouble in sleeping

Can Alzheimer's disease be prevented?

There is no way to prevent the development of Alzheimer's disease. But some lifestyle modifications can help in reducing the risk of Alzheimer's. Regularly exercising is one of them - physical activity has a protective effect on mental health and brain’s functioning.

The importance of health checkup for detecting Alzheimer's disease

Routine full body health checkup is essential for early detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer's. The following procedures and tests are performed for the diagnosis during your checkup:

• Referring to family and personal medical history

• Physical examination

• Blood and urine tests

• Neuropsychological test

• Brain imaging tests - CT, MRI, PET

• Doctor’s counselling

Any damage to the heart and blood vessels that include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels can increase your risk for Alzheimer's disease. Regular full body health checkups equip you with all the powerful insights that can help you avert such fatal diseases and live a healthier life. Get your full body preventive health checkup now.