Alzheimers: How It Effects The Brain

Are you interested in learning about Alzheimers and how it affects the brain? Alzheimer’s affects the brain in several different ways.  It is a slow disease, destroying brain cells and memory, and consists of separate stages.  Most people do not begin to show symptoms of the disease until they are in their 60’s, but early onset Alzheimer’s can also occur.  Although symptoms of the disease are not usually apparent until a person’s later years, scientists believe that damage to the brain begins occurring as much as twenty years before this time.

Amnesiac mental cognitive impairment or MCI, can cause memory problems in younger individuals and can be an early symptom of Alzheimer’s. Not everyone with MCI will develop the disease, but scientist believe that because Alzheimer’s affects the brain progressively and slowly, people with MCI are at a higher risk.  

Moderate Alzheimer’s disease is sometimes mistaken for the normal senility that comes with old age.  Alzheimer’s affects the brain individually, so some people in the moderate stages may not progress to the later stages for many years, Others may progress through the stages rapidly.  During the mild and moderate stages, memory lapses, loss of cognitive ability, confusion, loss of language skills, paranoia, and delusions are all common.

In the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, Alzheimer’s affects the brain more profoundly, and brain cell loss, tissue shrinkage, and damaged synapses also increase. People in the end stages of the disease are usually bed ridden and unable to communicate or care for themselves in any way, although again, it is important to remember that Alzheimer’s affects every brain differently, and not everyone passes through each stage before their brain stops functioning completely.