About Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that gradually affects memory, thinking, judgment, communication, and the ability to manage everyday activities.
It is the most common cause of dementia in older adults, but it is not a normal part of aging. Alzheimer’s disease affects individuals, families, caregivers, and communities in different ways, and the course of the disease can vary substantially from person to person.
At the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center of Albany, we help individuals and families better understand memory changes, evaluate possible causes, explore available treatment and research options, and plan for the future.
What Happens in Alzheimer’s Disease?
Alzheimer’s disease involves changes in the brain that begin years before symptoms are noticeable. Two abnormal proteins are especially important:
- Amyloid-beta, which can build up outside brain cells and form plaques
- Tau, which can accumulate inside brain cells and form tangles
These changes are associated with gradual injury and loss of brain cells. Over time, this can affect memory, language, orientation, reasoning, behavior, and daily functioning.
Researchers continue to study why Alzheimer’s disease develops, why it progresses differently from person to person, and how to identify and treat it as early as possible.
Common Signs and Symptoms
Early Alzheimer’s disease often begins with changes in short-term memory, but symptoms may vary. Possible signs include:
- Repeating questions or conversations
- Difficulty remembering recent events, appointments, or conversations
- Losing track of medications, finances, or familiar routines
- Trouble finding words or following a conversation
- Becoming disoriented in familiar places
- Reduced judgment or difficulty making decisions
- Changes in mood, personality, motivation, or social engagement
- Increasing difficulty completing tasks that were previously manageable
Memory problems can have many possible causes. Depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, medication effects, thyroid disease, vitamin deficiencies, vascular disease, and other neurological conditions can also affect thinking and memory.
A thorough evaluation can help clarify what may be contributing to symptoms.
Alzheimer’s Disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Dementia
Not every memory complaint means Alzheimer’s disease.
Some people experience normal age-related changes, such as occasionally forgetting a name or misplacing an item but remembering it later. Others may have mild cognitive impairment, often called MCI, in which there is measurable change in memory or thinking but the person remains largely independent in daily life.
Dementia is a general term used when cognitive changes become severe enough to interfere with independence. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, but there are other causes, including vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, medication effects, and medical conditions that may be treatable.
Learn more about Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia.
Why Early Evaluation Matters
Early evaluation can help identify reversible or contributing causes of memory symptoms, establish a baseline, guide treatment decisions, and allow individuals and families to plan while the person can participate fully in those decisions.
Evaluation may include a medical history, cognitive testing, physical and neurological examination, laboratory testing, brain imaging, and, in appropriate cases, biomarker testing.
Newer blood tests, spinal-fluid testing, and amyloid or tau PET imaging can sometimes help clarify whether Alzheimer’s disease-related changes are present. These tools are not necessary for every person, but they may be useful in selected situations.
Treatment and Research
There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but treatment options and research opportunities have expanded substantially.
Some medicines may help with symptoms involving memory, thinking, behavior, or mood. Newer disease-modifying treatments may slow cognitive and functional decline for selected people with early Alzheimer’s disease who meet specific clinical and biomarker criteria.
Clinical research is essential to improving diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and care. Studies may involve medications, infusions, injections, imaging, biomarker testing, digital assessments, lifestyle approaches, or prevention strategies for people before symptoms begin.
Participation in research is always voluntary, and not every person will qualify for every study.
Learn more about Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials and research opportunities.
Support for Families and Care Partners
Alzheimer’s disease affects more than the person with memory symptoms. Families and care partners often take on increasing responsibilities related to appointments, medications, finances, transportation, daily routines, and decision-making.
Support, education, and planning can make a meaningful difference. Families do not need to wait until a crisis to ask questions or seek guidance.
Learn more for families and care partners.
When to Seek an Evaluation
Consider seeking a cognitive evaluation when memory or thinking changes are becoming more frequent, affecting daily life, noticed by family members, or creating concern about safety, work, finances, driving, medications, or independence.
A conversation and cognitive evaluation can help clarify what is happening and what next steps may be appropriate.
Request an appointment or complete our confidential memory pre-screening questionnaire.
