The course of the disease

Although each case is specific and if all people are not affected at the same rate and in the same way, we can nevertheless schematically identify several stages of evolution of the disease.

Alzheimer's disease begins in the hippocampal region: the brain's memory area.

In this first phase of the disease, about 25% of the hippo-campus volume decreases. The neurons of the area concerned with the link between short-term memory and long term memory are partially damaged, so the person sees his slightly reduced memory capacity: it has mild forgetfulness names or events Recent and present difficulties in acquiring new information. Short-term memory problems growth as the hippo-campus continues to lose its neurons and cause difficulties in the organization of everyday life.

Over time, several other brain areas are in turn damaged, especially in the temporal-parietal-occipital association cortex, which generates gestures disorders, language and recognition.

At an advanced stage of the disease, brain injury having progressed, information retrieval can virtually no longer be the person then forget the events and details of his past.

I often have memory loss, I Alzheimer's disease?

Occasionally forget appointments, the name of a colleague or a telephone number is quite commonplace. It is the combination of several disorders and the fact that they have a significant impact in the life of the person to arouse the attention of the person and his entourage: language problems, difficulty performing familiar and everyday tasks, disturbance in attention, spatial and temporal confusion, etc.