These Manifestations Are Early Signs Of Alzheimer's Disease, So Be Vigilant!

Alzheimer's disease is a well-known neurodegenerative disease that can progress to the stage of dementia. Due to its insidious onset and difficulty in early diagnosis, it leads to cognitive impairment, mental behavioral problems, and loss of social and life functions in patients. If Alzheimer's disease is detected and intervened as early as possible, the progression of the disease can be delayed, so how to detect the disease in your family or yourself as early as possible? This article will introduce the early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

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Usually, more than 20 years before the typical symptoms of Alzheimer's disease appear, a series of pathophysiological changes may occur in the brain tissue. Symptoms include tau pathology and reduced hippocampal volume.

The concept of the preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease was proposed in the new diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease formulated by the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association in 2011 [1]. At this stage, there may be pathophysiological changes of AD, without or with clinical symptoms, including preclinical Alzheimer's disease (preclinical AD) and Alzheimer's disease-derived mild cognitive impairment (MCI due to AD). The introduction of this concept is conducive to the public's attention to the early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Patients in the MCI stage have already begun to have symptoms related to cognitive impairment. Progression of Alzheimer's disease. Usually, patients with Alzheimer's disease in the MCI stage have the following symptoms in the early stage:

1. Decreased cognitive function

(1) Decreased ability to learn new knowledge

Cognitive decline is also the most common symptom in patients with Alzheimer's disease-induced MCI, mainly manifested as a decline in the ability to learn new knowledge, not being interested in electronic products such as mobile phones or some other smart products, and being unable to learn some new household appliances or tools How to use, etc.

(2) Recent memory loss

For example, the ability of patients to remember new names is lower than that of the elderly of the same age, more frequent and persistent forgetfulness, repeated questions or repetitions, more use of notes and notepads, inability to remember time and appointment events, and inability to recognize the appearance of acquaintances, etc. [2] -3].

(3) Disorientation

Patients with Alzheimer's disease will experience disorientation, manifested as difficulty in recognizing time, place, person, and state. Patients with advanced disease may not be able to correctly recognize themselves, including name, age, occupation, etc. Patients in the early stage of Alzheimer's disease may experience disorientation in both familiar and unfamiliar environments, such as being unable to understand street signs, and unable to find the place to go according to the signs and signs.

2. Other cognitive impairments

In addition, Alzheimer's disease patients with MCI may have impairments in other cognitive domains.

(1) Language dysfunction

Patients in this period may have difficulty in finding words, such as sometimes not being able to find the right word when speaking, or the word is clear on the lips but can't remember what it is; patients in this period may also have difficulty in naming For example, you can’t think of the proper nouns for objects or items; and you may have problems with repetition, sentence and phrase repetition when speaking[4].

(2) Visuospatial dysfunction

Can be manifested as disorientation, object recognition disorders, etc. [5]. Such as being unable to visually judge the position of objects in space; unable to distinguish the positional relationship of several objects in space; not knowing the roads often walked, or even one's room and bed; or being unable to express familiar roads and rooms in words or pictures layout, location, etc.

(3) Executive dysfunction

It can manifest as an inability to make plans in advance, improper understanding and response to things, repetitive movements, etc. [6]; decreased attention can manifest as restlessness in sitting and lying, and easy distraction, etc. [7]. Patients are inattentive and easily stimulated by external Affected by it, talking repetitively, indecisive, hesitant, and procrastinating in doing things.

3. Slight impairment of complex instrumental daily abilities

(1) Impairment of daily function

Patients with AD-derived MCI have normal basic activities of daily living, such as dressing, eating, and bathing, but have mild impairments in instrumental daily activities such as financial management, shopping, and visiting, or social functions. It is difficult for patients to deal with complex financial problems, and their ability to use cash to shop and transfer money is lower than that of healthy people of the same age [8].

When dealing with more complicated housework such as cooking, patients may begin to forget the order of things they often do, even decades of habits and hobbies, such as forgetting the cooking procedure, or how to make tea. There will be difficulties in using complex smart devices such as mobile phones and complex household appliances [9], and there will be difficulties in behaviors such as taking public transportation [10].

(2) Mild impairment of social function

Mild impairment of social function manifests as decreased social relations and changes in the way of communication with relatives and friends, etc., thus affecting the quality of life of patients [11-12]. Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients with early Alzheimer's disease are more likely to suffer from impairment of daily ability; MCI patients with multiple cognitive domain impairments are more prone to impairment of daily ability than those with single cognitive domain impairment[12 ].

4. Noncognitive neuropsychiatric symptoms

Usually, patients with Alzheimer's disease may have neuropsychiatric symptoms (neuropsychiatric symptoms, NPS) at an early stage, such as apathy, depression, and anxiety, with a relatively high prevalence rate, even earlier than cognitive impairment. The personality of many patients may also undergo some changes, such as changing from lively to unhappy, from sullen to chattering. However, because some symptoms are not obvious, they are easily ignored by the patients themselves, their families, and their doctors [13].

Alzheimer's disease is not easy to detect in the early stage of the disease, and in many cases, the best time for intervention has been missed when the disease is diagnosed. Therefore, once you or someone around you has the above symptoms, please go to a regular medical institution for early diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible.

At present, Alzheimer's disease cannot be cured, but the prevention of related risk factors and lifestyle adjustments can be made. Risk factors related to Alzheimer's disease mainly include two categories: non-intervention and intervention. Among them, the former non-intervention factors include age, gender, genetic factors, and family history. If you carry the ApoE4 gene, it is recommended to go to the hospital for examination as soon as possible. Intervening factors include cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes, abdominal obesity in middle age, smoking and drinking, diet, education level, physical and mental activity, traumatic brain injury, and depression. It is recommended that such middle-aged and elderly people eat a healthy diet, regularly work and rest, and strengthen their physical exercise to prevent the progression of chronic diseases from affecting their health.

How does Cistanche extract prevent Alzheimer's disease

There is some research suggesting that Cistanche extract may have a protective effect against Alzheimer's disease. 

One possible mechanism is through its ability to increase levels of certain neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine, in the brain. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that is important for memory and cognition, and levels of this neurotransmitter are often decreased in people with Alzheimer's disease.

Cistanche extract also contains a number of bioactive compounds, including phenylethanoids and iridoids, which have been shown to have neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. These effects may also help to prevent or slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

References

[1]Sperling RA, Aisen PS, Beckett LA, et a1. Toward defining the preclinical stages of Alzheimer's disease: recommendations from the National Institute on Aging. Alzheimer's Association workgroups on the diagnosis. guidelines for Alzheimer's disease[J]. Alzheimer's Dement, 2011,

[2] Kawagoe T, Matsushita M, Hashimoto M, et al. Facespecific memory deficits and changes in eye scanning patterns among patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment[J]. Sci Rep, 2017, 7(1): 14344. DOI: 10.1038 /s41598017145855.

[3] Langa KM, Levine DA. The diagnosis and management of mild cognitive impairment[J]. JAMA, 2014, 312(23): 2551. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2014.13806.