Symptoms and signs of early onset Alzheimer’s

September 24, 2024

In this article

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. It damages your neurons, the cells in your brain that carry messages. Those damaged neurons can’t communicate well with each other anymore and eventually they die, causing your brain volume to shrink.

Alzheimer’s disease may begin with subtle changes but it worsens as time goes on, affecting more and more of your memory, thinking and behaviour.

Alzheimer’s symptoms

Alzheimer’s causes a range of difficulties, including problems with:

Memory: Forgetting names, conversations, appointments, events and getting lost.
Thinking: Finding it hard to manage finances, drive or navigate, choose appropriate clothes or remember to turn the stove off.
Behaviour and personality: Mood swings, wandering off, anger or depression, delusions, loss of inhibition.

Early onset Alzheimer’s

Early onset Alzheimer’s occurs in people younger than 65. Though Alzheimer’s is more common in older people, it can affect people in their 30s, 40s or 50s. It’s rare but it does happen, usually when there’s a strong family history of the disease.

The symptoms of early onset Alzheimer’s are essentially the same as for Alzheimer’s in over-65s.

Early signs of Alzheimer’s include:

Forgetfulness
Asking for the same information repeatedly
Losing track of things like dates, appointments or where you are
Finding it hard to keep up with conversations
Misplacing things
Vision changes
Withdrawing from work or social situations
Changes in mood or personality.

Could it be Alzheimer’s?

Everyone is forgetful or moody from time to time, so how do you tell if it’s Alzheimer’s?

Really, it’s about the overall picture. How often are these problems occurring? How is it affecting your life? Are your family and friends noticing changes or expressing concerns?

Most people don’t like the thought of a problem like Alzheimer’s. It’s natural to downplay those concerns but it would be far better to seek help. Talk to your GP in the first instance. They’ll probably ask you some questions and order some tests to give you a clearer understanding of your health.

If it is Alzheimer’s, then you have the opportunity to gather the support you need, plan for your future, try different therapies to manage your condition and live as well as you can.

Managing Alzheimer’s

As of yet, there’s no cure for Alzheimer’s so treatment focuses on managing symptoms and slowing the progression of the disease.

Alzheimer’s care may be provided by a range of professionals, including your GP, nurse, neurologist, physiotherapist or occupational therapist.

How Neurofit supports early onset Alzheimer’s

At Neurofit Brain Centre, we use non-invasive, brain-based therapies to support patients with Alzheimer’s.

Each person’s experience of Alzheimer’s is different, depending on which parts of the brain are affected.

Your treatment at Neurofit may include:

Photobiomodulation therapy: We use red or near-infrared light to help protect or treat tissues that are injured, degenerating or at risk of dying. The LEDs are attached to several areas on your head and the light from those lasers sinks deep into your cells, triggering beneficial changes in blood flow and oxygenation that help to improve cell function.
Electrical Stimulation Therapy: This stimulates specific parts of the brain to help improve cognitive function, facial recognition and the ability to remember the right word for something.
Exercise therapy: Exercise has many benefits for the human body, including helping to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s and improve neuropsychiatric symptoms like aggression, sleep or depression.

Please book an appointment today if you are concerned about Alzheimer’s.

Disclaimer

All information is general and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Neurofit Brain Centre can consult with you to confirm if a particular treatment approach is right for you.