Would a person with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia wake up one morning and suddenly start having memory problems? Persistent myth. On the contrary, scientists point to several warning signs which, taken together, suggest that the person will develop dementia.
Up to ten years before the appearance of memory problems, the beginnings of the disease take hold subtly. During this period, “many people have no obvious cognitive symptoms, but in reality brain changes are occurring»explains Yuan Zhang, researcher in medical-social sciences at Columbia University.
In other words: the brain transforms into silence. The changes occur even before the appearance of amyloid plaques, detected by medical imaging and considered the main characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease, as reported in a National Geographic article.
Today, approximately 6 million Americans suffer from some form of dementia—a number expected to double as the population ages. Same trend in France where around 2% of the population suffers from a neurodegenerative disease, or 1.3 million people. In this context, scientists are seeking to better understand forms of dementia, to spot the signals as quickly as possible. They thus established a list of five signs that can appear in the years preceding memory problems. And some might surprise you.
Poor financial management
People with dementia often forget to pay their bills. In 2020, researchers showed that these forgetting can start up to six years before diagnosis. A study published in January found that people give away more money than they have in the six years before diagnosis. They also become more vulnerable to scams.
On the investment side, they take more risks. “People who have had a well-diversified portfolio for years suddenly start to think that it is an excellent idea to invest all their savings in a stock, seen as a good plan.“, explains Lauren Nicholas, specialist in health economics and aging at the University of Colorado and co-author of the study. A change in financial behavior that can pass for audacity… but which can be perceived as a warning signal.
Persistent weight loss
Doctors have long observed a link between weight loss and dementia. A study published in 2023 suggests that weight loss often begins up to ten years before diagnosis, in both men and women. However, it accelerates in the preceding two to four years.
Be careful, unexplained weight loss can also be a symptom of many other illnesses. Conclusion: don’t panic. Losing a few pounds doesn’t make you a candidate for future Alzheimer’s, fortunately.
Subtle changes in language
Seven years before an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, subtle changes in language can appear, according to a study published in the journal The Lancet. By analyzing data from around 1,200 participants, certain changes in speech were identified, such as difficulty describing a drawing precisely or making long sentences. The experiment made it possible to determine with 74% accuracy which participants will develop the disease.
Decreased sense of smell
A diminished sense of smell may be part of the normal aging process. But in some cases, she says something else. Decreased ability to detect odors may be a warning sign of dementia. According to a study published in 2022, for each point lost on an olfactory test, the risk of subsequently developing Alzheimer’s disease increased by 22%.
Explanation: Immune cells in the brain could mistakenly consider nerve fibers linked to the odor processing center to be useless and attack these essential connections.
Significant mood changes
Apathy, irritability, impulsivity, emotional instability, depression or anxiety may be signs of future cognitive decline. “At the time, it may be thought that the person is suffering from depression, but over the next few years, when memory problems appear, the diagnosis becomes clearer.»explains Lea Marin, head of geriatric psychiatry at Mount Sinai Behavioral Health Center in New York.
Research has shown that more than half of cognitively stable people develop at least one mood-related symptom in the years before a memory disorder diagnosis. Brain changes such as inflammation and the gradual appearance of plaques inevitably play a role in these emotional variations.
Taken separately, these five signals may seem trivial. Together, however, they constitute a silent alert, that of a brain which begins to waver before the memory falters.
