Alzheimer's Information for Nevadans

What is Alzheimer's?

Dementia is an umbrella term for a number of distinct neurological diseases caused by plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, strokes, or toher problems in the brain.  Alzheimer's disease is one form of dementia and one of the most common, accounting for approximately 70% of cases.  There are more  than 50 identified forms of dementiabesides Alzheimer's disease, including: (1) frontotemporal dementia; (2) Lewy bodies disease; (3) Parkinson's disease; (4) Pick's disease; (5) vascular dementia.  Some forms of dementia may be reversible, but for the majority, including Alzheimer's disease, there remains no cure.

Symptoms include short and long-term memory loss, difficulties with problem solving, and performing step-wise tasks, and impaired communicative abilities.  The cognitive decline from dementia is significantly different from what is expected from normal aging and interferes with the completion of activities of daily living. 

(Source: Nevada State Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease, 2015).

The most common early symptom of Alzheimer's is difficulty remembering newly learned information.Alzheimer's is not the only cause of memory loss. Many people have trouble with memory. This does NOT mean they have Alzheimer's Disease.

If you or a loved one is experiencing symptoms of Dementia, it is best to visit a doctor to determine the cause.
 

Three Stages of Alzheimer's

There are three stages of Alzheimer's disease. No matter the stage, help is available. Although current Alzheimer's treatments cannot stop Alzheimer's from progressing, they can temporarily slow the worsening of dementia symptoms and improve quality of life for those with Alzheimer's and their caregivers. Today, there is a worldwide effort under way to find better ways to treat the disease, delay its onset, and prevent it from developing.