What Is Alzheimer's Disease? | National Institute on Aging

Alzheimer's disease is a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. Skiptomaincontent The.govmeansit’sofficial. Federalgovernmentwebsitesoftenendin.govor.mil.Beforesharingsensitiveinformation,makesureyou’reonafederalgovernmentsite. Thesiteissecure. The https:// ensuresthatyouareconnectingtotheofficialwebsiteandthatanyinformationyouprovideisencryptedandtransmittedsecurely. Breadcrumb Home HealthInformation WhatIsAlzheimer'sDisease? BasicsofAlzheimer’sDiseaseandDementia WhatIsAlzheimer'sDisease? Alzheimer’sdiseaseisabraindisorderthatslowlydestroysmemoryandthinkingskillsand,eventually,theabilitytocarryoutthesimplesttasks.Inmostpeoplewiththedisease—thosewiththelate-onsettypesymptomsfirstappearintheirmid-60s.Early-onsetAlzheimer’soccursbetweenaperson’s30sandmid-60sandisveryrare.Alzheimer’sdiseaseisthemostcommoncauseofdementiaamongolderadults. Sharethisinfographicandhelpspreadthewordaboutunderstandingdifferenttypesofdementia. ThediseaseisnamedafterDr.AloisAlzheimer.In1906,Dr.Alzheimernoticedchangesinthebraintissueofawomanwhohaddiedofanunusualmentalillness.Hersymptomsincludedmemoryloss,languageproblems,andunpredictablebehavior.Aftershedied,heexaminedherbrainandfoundmanyabnormalclumps(nowcalledamyloidplaques)andtangledbundlesoffibers(nowcalledneurofibrillary,ortau,tangles). TheseplaquesandtanglesinthebrainarestillconsideredsomeofthemainfeaturesofAlzheimer’sdisease.Anotherfeatureisthelossofconnectionsbetweennervecells(neurons)inthebrain.Neuronstransmitmessagesbetweendifferentpartsofthebrain,andfromthebraintomusclesandorgansinthebody.ManyothercomplexbrainchangesarethoughttoplayaroleinAlzheimer’s,too. Thisdamageinitiallytakesplaceinpartsofthebraininvolvedinmemory,includingtheentorhinalcortexandhippocampus.Itlateraffectsareasinthecerebralcortex,suchasthoseresponsibleforlanguage,reasoning,andsocialbehavior.Eventually,manyotherareasofthebrainaredamaged. HowmanyAmericanshaveAlzheimer’sdisease? Estimatesvary,butexpertssuggestthatmorethan6millionAmericansage65andoldermayhaveAlzheimer’s.Manymoreunderage65alsohavethedisease.UnlessAlzheimer'scanbeeffectivelytreatedorprevented,thenumberofpeoplewithitwillincreasesignificantlyifcurrentpopulationtrendscontinue.ThisisbecauseincreasingageisthemostimportantknownriskfactorforAlzheimer’sdisease. WhatdoesAlzheimer’sdiseaselooklike? MemoryproblemsaretypicallyoneofthefirstsignsofAlzheimer’s,thoughinitialsymptomsmayvaryfrompersontoperson.Adeclineinotheraspectsofthinking,suchasfindingtherightwords,vision/spatialissues,andimpairedreasoningorjudgment,mayalsosignaltheveryearlystagesofAlzheimer’sdisease.Mildcognitiveimpairment(MCI)isaconditionthatcanbeanearlysignofAlzheimer’s,butnoteveryonewithMCIwilldevelopthedisease. PeoplewithAlzheimer’shavetroubledoingeverydaythingslikedrivingacar,cookingameal,orpayingbills.Theymayaskthesamequestionsoverandover,getlosteasily,losethingsorputtheminoddplaces,andfindevensimplethingsconfusing.Asthediseaseprogresses,somepeoplebecomeworried,angry,orviolent. HowlongcanapersonlivewithAlzheimer’sdisease? Thetimefromdiagnosistodeathvaries—aslittleasthreeorfouryearsifthepersonisolderthan80whendiagnosed,toaslongas10ormoreyearsifthepersonisyounger. Alzheimer’sdiseaseiscurrentlyrankedasthesixthleadingcauseofdeathintheUnitedStates,butrecentestimatesindicatethatthedisordermayrankthird,justbehindheartdiseaseandcancer,asacauseofdeathforolderpeople. Currently,thereisnocureforAlzheimer’sdisease,thoughtherehasbeensignificantprogressinrecentyearsindevelopingandtestingnewtreatments.SeveralmedicineshavebeenapprovedbytheU.S.FoodandDrugAdministrationtotreatpeoplewithAlzheimer’s. LearnmoreabouthowAlzheimer'sdiseaseistreated. ReadaboutthistopicinSpanish.Leasobreestetemaenespañol. FormoreinformationaboutAlzheimer'sdisease NIAAlzheimer’sandrelatedDementiasEducationandReferral(ADEAR)Center 800-438-4380 [email protected] www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers TheNIAADEARCenteroffersinformationandfreeprintpublicationsaboutAlzheimer’sandrelateddementiasforfamilies,caregivers,andhealthprofessionals.ADEARCenterstaffanswertelephone,email,andwrittenrequestsandmakereferralstolocalandnationalresources. Alzheimers.gov www.alzheimers.gov ExploretheAlzheimers.govportalforinformationandresourcesonAlzheimer’sandrelateddementiasfromacrossthefederalgovernment. EldercareLocator 800-677-1116 [email protected] https://eldercare.acl.gov MedlinePlus NIHNationalLibraryofMedicine       www.medlineplus.gov ThiscontentisprovidedbytheNIHNationalInstituteonAging(NIA).NIAscientistsandotherexpertsreviewthiscontenttoensureitisaccurateanduptodate. Contentreviewed:July08,2021 Articles ParticipatinginActivitiesYouEnjoyAsYouAge QuittingSmokingforOlderAdults AdvanceCarePlanning GettingYourAffairsinOrder LatestNews Overactivewakefulnessneuronsdisruptsleepinagingmice 06/30/2022 RelatedArticles 8FrequentlyAskedQuestionsAboutAlzheimer'sDisease Alzheimer'sDiseaseFactSheet HowIsAlzheimer'sDiseaseDiagnosed? IfyouareinterestedinlearningmoreaboutAlzheimer's&Dementia,pleasecallusat1-800-438-4380,Mon-Fri,8:30am-5:[email protected]