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31/10/2026
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Qspeaking of Alzheimer's, significant memory loss is the first symptom that comes to mind. However, the disease can manifest in various ways, as experts reveal to HuffPost.
“Most people expect Alzheimer’s to start with forgetting names or key loss,” noted neurologist and professor Majid Fotuhi. “Normally, the first changes are more subtle.”.
Thus, as the expert points out, the initial symptoms can be “grade” and attributed to stress, fatigue and aging.
“ People also fear what an evaluation might mean for their independence,” noted neurologist Shaheen Lakhan.
Well, the person who's going through changes might not even be able to handle them. “In some cases, the disease affects the awareness of the difficulties themselves,” Lakhan said. “This is called anosognosia. One can truly believe that nothing has changed. Treating this as stubbornness can transform a neurological symptom into a family discussion.”.
In view of this, experts have highlighted signs that may be reasons for warning.
Changes in judgment and financial management
“ A person who was careful before starts delaying payments, paying the same account repeatedly or making atypical financial decisions,” Lakhan said. “A new pattern of difficulties, especially when accompanied by other changes, deserves attention.”.
Planning difficulties and complex tasks
“ Someone who has always been very organized can suddenly have difficulties in planning things or following the daily responsibilities,” Cappon said.
If before it was possible to perform several tasks at the same time, now it is complicated. Complex tasks also seem more challenging or even impossible.
“ A person who has always paid the bills, managed the investments or prepared the Christmas meals begins to make mistakes or, discreetly, passes these tasks to someone else,” Fotuhi explains. “Families often see this as a sign of aging or loss of interest.”.
“ The social life of people begins to decrease,” Lakhan warns. “Someone stops organizing meetings, avoids a favorite game or isolates himself from conversations that previously gave him pleasure. Accompanying several speakers or remembering the rules can become more difficult”.
Mood and behaviour disorders
“ Personality and mood disorders, such as apathy, removal from friends and hobbies, sudden irritability or anxiety, may arise before obvious memory problems”, says Fotuhi. “These symptoms are usually confused with depression or stress.”.
Difficulty with family technology
Patients also start to have difficulty dealing with technologies that were familiar to them, such as the bank's application.
“ The persistent loss of previously dominated skills is more worrying. A phone can give a clue, but it cannot make the diagnosis”, says Lakhan.
Repeat questions and remember the past better than the present. Another symptom is repeating the same story or questions over and over again.
“ A person can tell a vivid story from 40 years ago, while having difficulty remembering a conversation 40 minutes ago,” Lakhan said.
“ Repeated questions, forgotten plans or the need to repeat the same explanation can be raised, because the person still seems articulate and well informed. Preserved ancient memories do not rule out a problem in learning and retaining new information.”.
Losing yourself in familiar places
Majid Fotuhi also pointed to possible indicators, such as “wrong the road on a road that has been going on for 20 years or feeling briefly disoriented in a family shop”.
Decreased vision may be a factor, but it may also indicate a severe cognitive cause, such as Alzheimer's disease.
Olfaction disorders
Research also suggests that the loss of smell may be an early sign.
A recent study found that, in Alzheimer’s disease, immune cells in the brain may wrongly attack nerve fibers that transmit olfactory signals. This could explain why the loss of smell can arise years before diagnosis.