Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia in the UK. As it’s a progressive condition, symptoms usually develop gradually over many years.
But the sooner the cause of dementia symptoms is identified, the sooner treatment can begin.
Robert Love is a neuroscientist who specialises in helping people prevent Alzheimer’s disease, and he shared two of the earliest warning signs of the disease on his TikTok channel.
The two signs were discovered after work carried out by Dr Daniel Amen. The psychiatrist and brain disorder specialist did brain scans on people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Love said: “The first thing Dr Daniel Amen found was that the parietal lobes started to decay – the parietal lobes are involved in sensory input information.
“So the early warning sign is people getting lost or people having trouble parking straight.”
Secondly, Love said Dr Amen noticed the temporal lobes were having trouble.
Temporal lobes are involved in understanding and interpreting and responding to the environment
Love said: “So the early warning sign with this one is that people will enter a room but not know why they entered a room or they’ll have trouble accessing words.”
The NHS says in the early stages, the main symptom of Alzheimer’s disease is memory lapses.
For example, someone with early Alzheimer’s disease may:
- forget about recent conversations or events
- misplace items
- forget the names of places and objects
- have trouble thinking of the right word
- ask questions repetitively
- show poor judgement or find it harder to make decisions
- become less flexible and more hesitant to try new things
The health service adds: “There are often signs of mood changes, such as increasing anxiety or agitation, or periods of confusion.”
If you’re worried about your memory or you think you may have dementia, you should see a GP.
It’s important to also note memory problems are not just caused by dementia – they can be caused by depression, stress, medicines or other health problems.