How to tell if memory loss is Alzheimer's or old-age

The majority of Alzheimer's diagnoses occur in people over age of 65 It could be symptomatic of disease if forgetfulness hampers your daily life You have forgotten where you put your car keys, or you can't seem to remember the name of your colleague you saw in the grocery store the other day. If memory loss these symptoms significantly affect daily living, then Alzheimer's disease might be the cause Memory loss is normal; Alzheimer's is not Alzheimer's is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, leading to cognitive impairment that severely affects daily living. In late-onset Alzheimer's, the cause of the disease is unknown, although advancing age and inheriting certain genes may play an important role. The one exception is the prevalence of a condition called myoclonus that is more commonly observed in early-onset Alzheimer's disease than in late-onset Alzheimer's disease. What scientists have learned from these rare mutations that cause early-onset Alzheimer's is that in every case the gene mutation leads to the overproduction of a rogue, toxic, protein called beta-amyloid.