Alzheimer’s main symptoms

Difficulty remembering recent events, being very repetitive or getting lost in familiar places, main symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

(Madrid. Lucila Rodríguez)

More than one million people in Spain suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive neuronal loss and which, according to the World Health Organization, accounts for up to 70% of cases of dementia. This pathology is usually associated with age (50% of patients are over 85 years of age) so that, taking into account the current aging of the population, it is already the second medical concern of Spaniards, as recently shown by a survey conducted by the Pasqual Maragall Foundation.

However, despite its high incidence among the population, until the disease becomes very evident the symptoms can be confused with other types of dementia and even with the signs of old age. In this regard, the neurologist of the Memory Unit of the Neurology Service of the Ruber Internacional Hospital, Victor Blanco Palmero, explains that people suffering from this disease usually have more problems remembering recent events (details of trips, conversations or loss of objects) than remembering situations that occurred many years ago.

“When there is a loss of the ability to memorize with respect to previous years, when the failures get progressively worse or when they are objectified by family members, it is possible that it is something pathological. Specifically, the failures that are cause for concern are those related to putting things in strange places, being very repetitive, getting lost in familiar places or forgetting important appointments,” details Dr. Blanco Palmero, on the occasion of World Alzheimer’s Day.

In addition, sometimes the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s affect language (ability to express oneself or find specific words), the ability to organize oneself or the way of interpreting a space. However, occasional forgetfulness, such as where the car was parked or the reason for entering a room, is usually “benign” and should not be a cause for concern.

Biomarkers, the tool that provides diagnostic certainty

Beyond the presence of symptoms, the use of biomarkers is making it possible to observe the biological presence of the disease, i.e., to detect the changes caused by Alzheimer’s in the brain and thus provide greater diagnostic certainty. “In doubtful cases, they make it possible to rule out the pathology and attribute the symptoms to other situations of a non-progressive nature, such as, for example, the consumption of certain drugs or sleep problems,” says the doctor.

Biomarkers are one of the areas in which most research is being carried out and, in fact, plasma biomarkers are at an advanced stage of validation at the diagnostic level, so it is expected that a simple blood test will soon be able to prove evidence of the pathophysiological process of the disease.

Dr. Blanco Palmero also highlighted the 200 clinical trials that are being carried out worldwide to analyze the usefulness of up to 140 drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, among which the Ruber International Hospital will be collaborating. “Research in neurodegenerative diseases and, particularly, in Alzheimer’s disease, is one of the most active fields in Neurology”, he commented.

As for treatment, the doctor explains that currently the available therapies are aimed at improving the symptoms but not at modifying the evolution of the disease, although a drug is being tested in the United States that could probably modify the course of the pathology. “The drug, lecanemab, is an antibody directed against the amyloid protein, which is pathologically deposited in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and whose elimination could translate into clinical benefits,” explains the neurologist from the Memory Unit of the Neurology Department of the Ruber International Hospital.

Precisely in the hospital service, after assessing the symptoms and performing a neuropsychological study and complementary tests to confirm the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, a treatment is established that can be both pharmacological and non-pharmacological. “As for the latter, we offer cognitive stimulation services, physiotherapy treatment in the case of motor problems, occupational therapy and speech therapy in the case of language problems,” says the doctor.