Early Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s
Q. With Alzheimer’s a real threat for someone like me who is past 80, are there early warning signs and anything that can be done to help people avoid the ramifications of this awful disease? So far I am in great health physically and mentally.
As a matter of fact, new research has shed light on what could be the earliest warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease, which may open the door to helping people fight back against the disease.
Even very early in Alzheimer’s disease, people become less efficient at separating important from less important information, according to the study, published in the May issue of Neuropsychology.
Remembering what’s most important is central to daily life. For example, if you went to the grocery store but left your shopping list at home, you’d at least want to remember the milk and bread, if not the jam.
The researchers asked participants, who were recruited from the Washington University in St. Louis Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, to study and learn neutral words that were randomly assigned different point values. When asked to recall the items, participants were asked to maximize the total value.
All participants, even those with Alzheimer’s disease, recalled more high-value than low-value items. However, the Alzheimer’s groups were significantly less efficient than their healthy age peers at remembering items according to their value.
The authors speculated that Alzheimer’s disease makes it harder for people to encode what they learn in a strategic way. Because encoding is the first step in long-term memory, this affects their ability to remember things according to their value.
This research, the authors say, suggests the potential for improved memory training. People with early-stage Alzheimer’s might remember important information better by learning to be more strategic and selective when encoding high-value information, even though it comes at the expense of neglecting less-important information, the authors said.
Another great way to stay healthy is to remain active. Volunteer if you can and even consider a part-time job like that of a caregiver. Home Instead Senior Care regularly hires other seniors to serve as companions to older adults, assisting them with household tasks or just serving as a friend.
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