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Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is Alzheimer’s
Disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause
of dementia among older people. It is marked
by progressive, and at present,
irreversible, declines in certain cognitive
functions. These impairments may include
declines in memory, time and space
orientation, abstract thinking, the ability
to learn and carry out mathematical
calculations, language and communication
skills, and the performance of routine
tasks.
2. What is dementia?
Dementia is a group of symptoms
characterized by a decline in intellectual
functioning severe enough to interfere with
a person’s normal daily activities and
social relationships. Alzheimer’s disease is
the most common cause of dementia in older
persons.
3. Is it common for
people to get Alzheimer’s disease as they
get older?
Since Alzheimer’s is the most common form of
dementia in older people, affecting over 4
million Americans, the chance of developing
it increases with age. About 5 in 100 people
have Alzheimer’s at age 65. By age 85, these
odds increase to at least 20 in 100.
Although Alzheimer’s typically affects
people older than 65, it can also affect
much younger people.
4. Who gets
Alzheimer’s disease? Does it run in
families?
No one knows exactly what causes Alzheimer’s
disease. Scientists do know that it
sometimes runs in families. People who have
a brother, sister or a parent with
Alzheimer’s disease are more likely to
develop the disease themselves.
5. How is Alzheimer’s
disease diagnosed?
Alzheimer’s disease can only be conclusively
diagnosed by examining the brain after death
in an autopsy to determine the presence of
characteristics plaques and tangles in
certain brain areas. However, doctors can
make a clinical diagnosis of “possible” or
“probable” Alzheimer’s disease in a living
person. Several tools are used to arrive at
this diagnosis. These include: a complete
medical history and tests that measure
memory, problem solving, attention,
counting, and language abilities. Medical
tests such as analysis of blood are urine
are used to determine if the dementia has
another cause. Brain scans can be used to
see whether the person has abnormalities
such as strokes that could account for the
dementia.
6. How accurate are
tests for Alzheimer’s disease?
Doctors in specialized Alzheimer’s disease
treatment centers can now diagnose
Alzheimer’s disease with up to 90 percent
accuracy in a living person. |
