Considering the statistics, it's hard to ignore a disease like Alzheimer's. In 2008, near 300,000 Canadians over the age of 65 were diagnosed.

It is expected that by 2031, with the sharp increase in the number of people over age 65, this figure will jump to over 750,000. Nearly one in four Canadian families will be affected by this disease.

The majority of people with Alzheimer's are over age 65. However, it is not a normal part of aging.

Alzheimer's is an incurable, progressive, degenerative disease that attacks the vital nervous cells of the brain. It particularly affects memory, reasoning, speech and judgment. It can also provoke changes in mood and behaviour. The symptoms do not appear overnight. As a rule, they appear gradually and go unnoticed for a long time before the disease is diagnosed.

How is the Disease Recognized?

Many of the symptoms of Alzheimer's resemble those for depression, thyroid problems and aging. In addition to the importance of an early diagnosis, it's important to realize that the disease affects everybody differently. Treatment is always more effective when the disease is detected early.

The examples below compare symptoms in a healthy person to those of a person who has Alzheimer's (Source: Alzheimer's Society Website).

Memory loss that affects day-to-day functions

• Healthy Person: Occasionally forgets an appointment, a colleague's name or a phone number, but remembers later.
• A Person with Alzheimer's: Frequently forgets recent events and never remembers them again.
   

Difficulty performing familiar tasks

• Healthy Person: Gets distracted while doing daily chores (e.g.: forgets the vegetables cooking on the stove).
• A Person with Alzheimer's: Is unable to cook, and forgets to eat.
   

Problems with language

• Healthy Person: Has trouble finding the right word.
• A Person with Alzheimer's: Forgets easy words or substitutes inappropriate words to the extent that it renders understanding difficult.
   

Disorientation in space and time

• Healthy Person: Forgets what day it is, or a destination.
• A Person with Alzheimer's: Gets lost on his/her own street: does not knowing how he/she got there or how to get home.
   

Poor or decreased judgment

• Healthy Person: Delays treatment, but eventually sees a doctor.
• A Person with Alzheimer's: Not alarmed by the seriousness of an ailment, does not consult a doctor. Does not dress properly (e.g.: puts on three sweaters when it's warm out).
   

Difficulty with abstract thinking

• Healthy Person: May occasionally have difficulty with tasks that require abstract thinking, such as balancing a cheque book.
• A Person with Alzheimer's: Completely forgets what figures represent and what to do with them. Fails to remember the significance of birthdays or anniversaries.
   

Misplacing things

• Healthy Person: Temporarily misplaces a wallet or keys.
• A person with Alzheimer's: Puts things away in the wrong place (e.g.: a watch in the sugar bowl).
   

Mood or behaviour changes

• Healthy Person: Sad or out of sorts once in a while.
• A Person with Alzheimer's: Rapid mood swings (calm one minute and in tears the next) for no apparent reason.
   

Personality changes

• Healthy Person: Slight changes in personality with age.
• A Person with Alzheimer's: Very pronounced changes in personality (e.g.: someone who was once outgoing and self-confident becomes withdrawn and suspicious). Other possible changes: apathy, fear and difficult behaviour.
   

Lack of enthusiasm

• Healthy Person: Occasionally lets housework or social engagements slide but in most cases quickly regains enthusiasm.
• A Person with Alzheimer's: Becomes increasingly passive in a short period of time; needes lots of encouragement to get back into the swing of things.
   

All these symptoms are divided into three phases or seven stages. If they can be diagnosed with the assistance of an attending physician, those who have the disease can better plan their life and cope with the illness as it progresses.

Causes and Treatment

The exact origin of the disease is not known, and there is currently no effective treatment (certain drugs are used to treat symptoms).

Researchers believe it might be caused by a combination of factors linked to heredity, environment (e.g.: a microbe in the water, air or soil) or the body itself (e.g.: virus, chemical imbalance or immune deficiency).  

Help and Support

For people who have Alzheimer's and their caregivers, the key is to focus on those capacities that have remained intact and to get help from the available resources. This disease affects caregivers as well as the patient.

These resources can be found on the previously mentioned websites or the Health Canada website. They explore ways of improving the caregivers' quality of life, and receive financial support from various sources, including Desjardins Financial Security.