Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder and the most common cause of dementia, gradually impairing memory, reasoning and the ability to manage daily life.
Key points
- Gradual decline over months or years differs from sudden confusion, which may have an urgent and treatable cause.
- Diagnosis combines history from the person and someone who knows them, cognitive assessment, examination and tests for alternatives.
- Medicines may modestly slow symptoms or decline in selected people, but support, safety planning and carer needs remain central.
The listings below do not diagnose dementia or suit every stage; selection and monitoring belong with a clinician experienced in cognitive disorders.
Building a reliable diagnosis
Clinicians assess which cognitive abilities have changed and how this affects daily tasks. Blood tests and brain imaging can identify contributors such as thyroid disease, vitamin deficiency, stroke or a mass. Depression, sleep problems and medicine effects can also worsen cognition.
Treatment beyond medicine
Cholinesterase inhibitors or memantine have roles at particular stages and may cause gastrointestinal, heart-rate or other adverse effects. Regular review checks whether benefit continues. Exercise, routines, hearing and vision support, driving review, advance planning and respite for carers address risks medicines cannot.
When to seek urgent care
Seek urgent assessment for sudden confusion, new weakness or speech difficulty, a seizure, head injury, fever with marked drowsiness, wandering into immediate danger or inability to maintain basic hydration and safety.