Symptoms that may be but are not always present
include:
- Firmly held false beliefs (), such as that someone is stealing from the
person.
- Seeing or hearing things that aren't really there ().
- Lack of interest in
surroundings or activities, or withdrawal from family and
friends.
- Purposeless activity, such as opening and closing a purse,
packing and unpacking clothing, pacing, or repeating demands or
questions.
- Verbal and physical aggression.
- Inability to
control impulses, which may lead to unusual or inappropriate actions. Men are
somewhat more likely than women to exhibit behavior problems such as wandering,
abusiveness, and social impropriety.
Early in the disease, Alzheimer's usually does not affect a
person's fine motor skills (such as the ability to button or unbutton clothes
or use utensils) or sense of touch. A person who develops motor symptoms (such
as weakness or shaking hands) or sensory symptoms (such as numbness) probably
has a condition other than Alzheimer's disease. Conditions such as
, for instance, may cause motor
symptoms along with dementia.
Other conditions with symptoms
similar to those of Alzheimer's disease may include:
- Other types of
, such as
, which is dementia resulting
from a series of small
.
- Thyroid problems, such as
or
.
- .
- Other problems such as kidney
and liver disease and some infections such as
(human immunodeficiency virus).