Alzheimer’s disease is a condition of the brain in which the cells start to deteriorate and die at a faster pace, resulting in a person’s inability to perform everyday tasks with ease.

One of the most prominent effects of Alzheimer’s disease is dementia i.e. loss of memory. Besides, this disease also affects a person’s thinking, behavioral and social skills. As more and more brains cells degenerate, this condition progresses to be more severe. It is known to be one of the most common causes of dementia.

Causes:
Alzheimer’s is a progressive form of dementia and is generally observed in people over 65. This disease is usually caused by a combination of different reasons like genetic factors, lifestyle habits as well as environmental factors.

In certain situations, the onset of this condition can be due to certain genetic changes in the person, which may cause the condition to start showing symptoms earlier than usual. This is known as early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Apart from these possible factors, there are no concrete causes of Alzheimer’s observed just yet. The core problem arises when the proteins in brain cells start functioning abnormally. This causes neurons to undergo damage, resulting in lost connections (with each other).

This has a toxic effect on the functioning of the brain and causes these neurons to eventually die.

Symptoms
Following are the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

• Memory
  The people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease experience serious instances of memory loss, to an extent that it starts interfering with their daily activities.
• Loss of preserved skills
  Preserved skills are the essential skills and abilities that are essential for our daily living. They are usually fixed in your subconscious mind such that you don’t even have to think about it. These skills, such as reading, writing, singing, drawing, etc., are lost in the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
• Changes in personality
  Losing one’s memory and the natural ability to remember certain things can have a profound effect on a person’s personality. As a result, an Alzheimer’s patient may experience mood swings, distrust in others, and depression.
• Affected thinking and reasoning abilities
  People with Alzheimer’s may have a hard time thinking about certain things that are more complex and variable like numbers or days of the week.

Stages
While Alzheimer’s disease is officially broken down into seven different stages, they can be broadly classified into mild, moderate, and severe Alzheimer’s disease, respectively.

• Mild Alzheimer’s disease
  The first four stages are considered to be mild stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The patient may start experiencing cognitive difficulties and forgetfulness, which may not be considered serious at the moment. The condition is usually detected towards the end of this stage. In the case of early-onset Alzheimer’s, the condition could be detected in the first stage itself based on family history.
• Moderate Alzheimer’s disease
  When a person reaches this stage of Alzheimer’s, the areas of the brain that control language, conscious thought, and reasoning are affected. The patient may start experiencing serious memory loss, which may result in the inability to perform basic tasks like getting dressed.
• Severe Alzheimer’s disease:
  At this stage of this disease, the tissues in the brain have shrunk considerably, resulting in the increase of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The patient may need help for carrying out basic tasks, like eating or wearing clothes. Towards the end, the patient will start experiencing a loss of speech and facial expressions.

Risk factors

There are several health and lifestyle factors that may increase your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. These include increasing age, genetics, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), past head trauma, heart health, among others.