Case Studies
(LO 17-4) A patient’s wife tells you she suspects her husband has Alzheimer’s disease. What are the early warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease? ______________________________________________
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Memory loss that affects job skills Difficulty performing familiar tasks Problems with language such as forgetting a word or speaking inappropriate words, making their language difficult to understand Disorientation to time and place Poor or decreased judgment such as inappropriate dressing for the weather Problems with abstract thinking such as difficulty recognizing numbers or performing basic calculations Misplacing items followed by no memory of how they got there Significant changes in mood or behavior for no apparent reason Changes in personality, including becoming less tolerant or angry, suspicious, or fearful in an otherwise easygoing individual Loss of initiative or interest in many areas of life that they were once engaged in