Forgetting a name, misplacing your keys, or walking into a room and briefly forgetting why you went there can happen to almost anyone. Memory naturally changes somewhat with age, and occasional lapses do not necessarily indicate Alzheimer’s disease.
What deserves more attention is a persistent change in memory, language, reasoning, orientation, or judgment that represents a noticeable decline from a person’s previous abilities and begins interfering with everyday life.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurological condition and the most common cause of dementia. It gradually affects memory and other cognitive abilities. Changes in the brain can begin years before symptoms become obvious, but ordinary forgetfulness cannot by itself reveal whether those changes are occurring.
There is also no reliable home questionnaire, memory score, or single symptom that can diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. Similar difficulties can occur because of depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, medication effects, thyroid problems, vitamin deficiencies, hearing or vision
