Alzheimer’s Symptoms: Early Signs of Memory Loss

According to a study conducted by researchers from the public Health Wales (formerly University of Swansea in the land of Wales) and the Charles de Prague University (Czech Republic), these sensory modifications could appear long before memory disorders are manifested.

As Dr. Emma Richards underlines, from the Center for Research on Aging and Dementia to the Health Wales, “many patients report having experienced these changes in years before receiving a diagnosis, but these symptoms can be overlooked during standard cognitive evaluations”.

Unknown alert signals

For the authors, who present their observations in the book A New Approach to Dementia – Examining Sensory and Perceptual Impairement (a new approach to dementia – examination of sensory and perceptual deficiencies), these first symptoms affect all of our senses and can manifest in different ways. The vision can be affected, making more difficult the interpretation of visual information or navigation in nevertheless familiar environments.

The hearing also undergoes changes, particularly in the treatment of sounds in a noisy environment, which can complicate conversations in a lively restaurant or during a family meeting.

Smelling and taste can also alter, transforming the experience of meals. Touch is not spared, with changes in tactile sensitivity that can affect everyday gestures. Even balance can be disturbed, creating a feeling of instability that goes beyond the simple effects of aging.

Fight earlier against disease

This new understanding could transform how to detect and support cognitive disorders. For Professor Jan Kremláček, specialist in neurophysiological evaluation, at Charles de Prague University, “expand the diagnostic approach beyond memory tests opens the possibility of identifying dementia at preclinical stages, when therapies and changes in lifestyle can be the most effective”.