Alzheimer’s Anxiety: What’s Normal, What’s Not, and When to Act
Alzheimer’s disease is probably my biggest fear. Unfortunately, this means the anxiety surrounding it can also be debilitating. If I forget a coworker’s name, is that a sign? What if I “forget” that pizza is not on the whole 30 diet? Jokes aside, worrying about Alzheimer’s can interfere with daily life. So, how can you differentiate between the normal lapses we all get, changes due to aging, and the serious brain alterations that occur during Alzheimer’s dementia?
On the MedEvidence!™ Podcast Neurologist Stephen Toenjes, MD, describes the key factor of Alzheimer’s, “there are normal changes that are associated with aging. But we do not lose our memory as we age. If there's memory loss, there is something wrong. There is damage [1].” He continues by having us imagine “somebody put the milk in the cabinet. I just ask, ‘Where does the milk go?’ And the patient will say ‘In the refrigerator’. And that illustrates that the person knows that the milk goes in the refrigerator. They didn't forget that it goes in the refrigerator, they just weren’t paying attention to what they were doing. [1]” A patient with Alzheimer’s would not remember where the milk goes.
This differentiation between brain changes due to normal aging and those due to Alzheimer’s can pose real challenges for doctors; diagnosing Alzheimer’s can be a long and complex process [2]. Many of the steps to diagnose Alzheimer’s are investigations into other things that may be causing mental changes.
- If a person exhibits memory loss, a doctor may look at overall health, medicines, and other personality changes.
- They may order cognitive tests that measure memory, attention, problem-solving, counting, and language skills [2].
- Blood, urine, and tests for other psychiatric conditions may help rule out conditions that have similar symptoms, like depression [2].
- If there are no indications that another condition may be causing Alzheimer’s-like symptoms, a physician may order a test of biomarkers [2, 3].
Unfortunately, there are currently no cures for Alzheimer’s dementia, though clinical trials are actively attempting to fill this void [2]. An early diagnosis may be particularly important for those seeking a clinical trial for Alzheimer’s because the disease gets worse over time. We may not be able to reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s dementia, but the earlier a patient receives treatments being developed, the more effective they can be at preventing decline [2].
Creative Director Benton Lowey-Ball, BS, BFA
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References:
[1] Koren, MJ. Toenjes, S. & McKormick, M. (13 April, 2022). Is it Alzheimer's or something else? In MedEvidence! Truth Behind the Data [Podcast]. https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/1926091/episodes/10248455-is-it-alzheimer-s-or-something-else-ep-11
[2] National Institute on Aging. (8 December, 2022) How is Alzheimer's disease diagnosed? U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-symptoms-and-diagnosis/how-alzheimers-disease-diagnosed
[3] Jack Jr, C. R., Andrews, J. S., Beach, T. G., Buracchio, T., Dunn, B., Graf, A., ... & Carrillo, M. C. (2024). Revised criteria for diagnosis and staging of Alzheimer's disease: Alzheimer's Association Workgroup. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 20(8), 5143-5169. https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/alz.13859
