Is a bad memory a minor problem? West China Memory Expert: Be careful if you have any of these 7 problems!

Do you want to live past 80?

Nowadays, this is not difficult. According to statistics from the National Health Commission: In 2017, the average life expectancy of Chinese people was 76.7 years.

According to Dr. Kuang Weihong, a first-level expert at the Mental Health Center of West China Hospital of Sichuan University :

“Over 80, you have a close to 50 percent chance of developing Alzheimer’s or a similar cognitive disorder. Everyone will get Alzheimer’s if they live long enough.

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The chance of getting the disease is even higher than the cancer that everyone fears.

There are endless new drugs being developed for cancer, but the progress of new drugs for Alzheimer's disease is much slower than it was 10 years ago. Current drugs can only relieve symptoms but cannot truly reverse the course of the disease.

The patient's family will have to witness a person who was once humorous, passionate, rational and capable gradually degenerate into a baby-like person , and all "attempts to resist" seem insignificant in the face of time.

What is

Alzheimer's disease?

Alzheimer's disease is a disease of brain degeneration (progressive atrophy) and is the main cause of cognitive impairment (dementia) in the elderly, commonly known as senile dementia .

Doctor's explanation

It slowly and painfully takes away a person's memory, language, thinking, emotions and ability to move.

In the past, the disease generally occurred after the age of 65, but in recent years there has been a trend towards earlier onset, and now many people around the age of 50 have begun to show symptoms, and there are quite a few cases.

It is worth noting that approximately 80% to 90% of patients have not yet received effective diagnosis and treatment.

Often overlooked

7 Early Symptoms

But even those who do go to the hospital for treatment often go too late.

In the Alzheimer's clinic, doctors often ask patients the following questions:

"What year is this?"

"How old are you?"

"What is 100-7?"

Most of the elderly people sitting opposite would shake their heads in confusion after hearing the questions.

These elderly people who can’t even do simple addition and subtraction even with their thumbs bent, may have once been teachers or shop owners with excellent mental arithmetic abilities…

Before the visit, the family may have already noticed something strange about the patient: he doesn’t recognize people, can’t remember things, and now doesn’t want to play mahjong, which he used to love playing...

However, because the family members were unaware of the early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, they did not pay enough attention.

Dr. Kuang said that these symptoms should arouse vigilance:

👉①I remember things that happened in the past very clearly, but find it difficult to remember things that happened recently.

👉② Repeatedly asking questions that have already been answered.

👉③Unable to speak clearly: Struggling to think of common words during conversation.

👉④ Personality changes: Compared with the previous personality, there is a big contrast. The once gentle person becomes moody; the once helpful person becomes indifferent to everything.

👉⑤ Temperament changes: Temperament changes dramatically, and may change from calm to furious or tearful within a few minutes.

👉⑥ Abnormal behavior: such as wandering aimlessly, picking up rubbish, etc.

👉⑦ Disordered sleep schedule: decreased sleep quality, etc.

Still worried?

Check out the self-measurement table

Perhaps you are still a little at a loss after seeing this. The editor has a self-test scale to recommend to everyone.

👀Self-test time is up👀

(❤ Doctor Kuang’s warm reminder: It does not mean that if you meet most of the scores on the scale, you must have dementia. But if the score is above 2 points, it is recommended to go to the hospital for further evaluation and diagnosis.)

Cannot be cured,

But early detection is of great significance in delaying the disease

Alzheimer's disease cannot be cured, but early detection and early treatment are of great significance in delaying the progression of the disease.

Alzheimer's disease is often called senile dementia in China. The derogatory meaning contained in it often makes patients feel dishonorable, so they are discouraged and refuse to seek medical treatment.

In fact, Alzheimer's disease is a type of cognitive disorder. Rather than "dementia treatment," it may be more appropriate to call it a "memory clinic."

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What can the memory clinic do?

Maybe some people still don’t understand what the “Memory Clinic” can do specifically?

👀Detailed version introduction is here👀

Alzheimer's disease should never be a one-sided "battle" by medical staff or patients and their families. It should be a "war" in which everyone works together.

In "I Have Alzheimer's Disease", Bram discusses with his father, a psychologist who suffers from Alzheimer's disease:

The deepest need of a person with dementia is to have someone by their side, someone who can accompany them as their homeless soul moves through the night, something that being alone is unbearable.

Finally, I want to say:

Perhaps, we all know that the ending is inevitable, but we can at least make that ending come a little later, so that the family can be more dignified in the process of approaching it.

They need you to hold their hands, just like they held your hands when you were learning to walk for the first time when you were a child, and walk slowly together.