Causes of Alzheimer's Disease

Written by Zhou Yan

Geriatrics

Updated on April 10, 2025

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The causes of Alzheimer's disease are related to multiple factors. For instance, advanced age is the most significant risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, with the incidence increasing by 5% with each additional year. Secondly, it is related to gender, with women being more prone to Alzheimer's disease. Additionally, there is a certain relationship with genetics. The fourth factor is vascular factors, such as hypercholesterolemia, hyperhomocysteinemia, diabetes, and hypertension. The fifth factor is lifestyle, including smoking, excessive drinking, diet, sleep disorders, depression, and obesity, all of which are risk factors for Alzheimer's disease.

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early signs of dementia

Dementia in the elderly, mainly referring to Alzheimer's disease, is primarily characterized by a significant decline in the patient's memory and learning abilities. Of course, there are some prodromal symptoms before the onset of dementia. For example, patients might show no clinical signs of cognitive impairment or only display very slight memory decline. Patients might exhibit mild impairment in memory, a decrease in the ability to learn and retain new information, and mild impairments in other cognitive areas such as attention, executive function, language skills, and visuospatial abilities. However, these impairments are very slight and can go unnoticed by family members. Moreover, these mild impairments do not affect the patient's basic daily life abilities and do not reach the level of dementia. Patients can live independently and manage their routine daily tasks, which are mainly some of the early signs of dementia.

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Care measures for dementia in the elderly

Dementia in the elderly is the most common neurodegenerative disease in neurology, mainly referring to the irreversible death of neuronal cells caused by various reasons, which poses a significant clinical hazard and lacks effective treatment methods. Therefore, nursing measures become very important. The main nursing measures include, First, ensuring the patient's nutrition. In the later stages, elderly patients may have no regular diet and cannot take care of themselves. Therefore, ensuring sufficient energy intake and enough protein intake is very important. Malnutrition can easily lead to various complications, leading to the patient's death. Second, it's important to equip elderly people with commonly used contact numbers and addresses in their pockets to prevent them from getting lost and creating dangerous situations. Third, when elderly people are at home, it is crucial to keep the kitchen door closed to prevent them from turning on the gas and forgetting to turn it off. Fourth, patients with dementia are prone to lung infections after becoming bedridden. If bedridden, it is important to frequently turn them over and pat their back to prevent the onset of lung infections.

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At what age does senile dementia usually occur?

It is generally believed that elderly people over the age of 65 are at a significantly increased risk of dementia, and the prevalence is even higher among those over 80. However, there are exceptions, as some individuals may experience cognitive decline around the age of 50, which requires extra attention. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease, a typical neurodegenerative disorder where various factors lead to the degeneration and death of neurons. Initially, patients mainly exhibit a decline in short-term memory functions, often mistaken for simple forgetfulness, resulting in a failure to seek diagnosis and treatment.

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Methods for Examining Dementia in the Elderly

The examination of dementia mainly includes the following aspects. First, it is to determine whether the patient has cognitive impairment, because in the early stages of dementia this impairment is often mild, primarily in recent memory, with other aspects not yet obvious. Early screening can use some cognitive evaluation scales, such as the Mini-Mental State Examination or the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, chosen according to the patient's cultural level. Second, imaging examination, commonly using brain MRI, can reveal significant signs of dementia such as deepened brain sulci, narrowed gyri, and widened lateral fissures, indicating brain atrophy. Third, genetic testing for the APOE gene, which may be related to dementia. Possession of this gene may increase the likelihood of developing dementia in the future, serving as an auxiliary diagnostic measure.

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Late-stage symptoms of senile dementia

Elderly dementia generally refers to Alzheimer's disease. This disease begins slowly and progressively worsens, with symptoms becoming increasingly severe. In the later stages of dementia, symptoms are numerous, mainly reflected in the following aspects: First, patients may exhibit significant personality changes. For example, a person who was originally gentle may become irritable and prone to aggressive behaviors such as hitting or yelling at others, and may even experience incontinence. Second, a patient's overall cognitive functions completely collapse, with a comprehensive decline in memory, as well as significant impairments in computational abilities, judgment, and comprehension. There are also problems with time orientation, with patients unable to distinguish between day and night. Additionally, patients may experience severe malnutrition, develop bedsores, and suffer from serious complications such as pulmonary infections and urinary tract infections.