Question: When a patient has dementia caused by Alzheimer disease, changes occur in the brain that go beyond a normal ageing elderly, what can those changes be?

Nadine Mirza answered on 5 Nov 2018:

With Alzheimer’s specifically, the changes we see are usually to do with memory and these are the ones most people know. Short term memory becomes impaired or even stops existing, and eventually it begins to effect long term memory as well. It goes from forgetting where one put the car keys or if they put away the groceries to forgetting family members names and their own history. This isn’t just memory loss from growing old- it’s far more severe.
However, there are other changes too.

Because the brain is responsible for everything we are and everything we do when it’s attacked by Alzheimer’s it effects all of this. Things like personality, preferences, activities, abilities, skills, relationships, social skills. All of it. People with Alzheimer’s are also very like to develop anxiety. And some people with Alzheimer’s can also start having hallucinations.

A person may experience some, all or only one of these changes. It completely differs from person to person, even with the same disease.