A forgetfulness may be the beginning ... Learning to know the signs of Alzheimer's

In this era of new technologies, it is very easy to stop exercising our memory for such small things as remembering your partner's phone number or your dentist appointment next week. Have you ever wondered if this is normal or if your memory is failing you?

June is Alzheimer's & Brain Awareness Month , Dementia affects 47 million people worldwide and approximately 5.9 million of all ages in this country, 3.5 million are women and more than 200 thousand people are under 65 years old. This are some facts shown in the Annual Report "Data and Figures on Alzheimer's Disease" developed by the Alzheimer's Association here in the United States.

An alarming fact is that Latinos have 1, 5 percent more risk of suffering from this disease, if we do not do something about these figures could rise. If there is no change it is estimated that by 2050 the number of Alzheimer's patients in the United States will reach 7, 1 million and about 1.3 million will be of Latino origin.

Have you asked yourself, what are the figures in your country of origin?

Among the most important conclusions of this report is that one of the main problems is the lack of communication between older adults and their doctors about when a cognitive evaluation is necessary. Are you wondering what is a cognitive test?

A cognitive test is a short oral or written evaluation that can be as simple as asking the patient if he or she is concerned about their cognitive health that is related to memory, thinking and language.

Another the big problem is that only 1 out of every 7 seniors is regularly done this type of exam and what worries most is that those who realize that they are suffering some change in their memory they will mention only once to their doctor or they will keep it to themselves.

The Silence is one of the characteristics of the lack of knowledge, when we do not know what is happening to us, or we do not talk openly about this type of topics. Nobody is exempt from suffering this type of disease, although there are many things that can be done to prevent it, the most important thing is that we break this Silence, we have to start talking about this issue, we need to be aware, we need to stop been afraid, we have to abandon the taboos and start demanding  a cognitive test as  a routine  procedure as  measuring blood pressure at each annual medical visit, regardless of our age, since not only those over 65 can get sick, there are more and more patients under 65. 

If you have any questions or want to know more information visit the Alzheimer's Association website www.alz.org or call 800-272-3900 here in the United States. There you can learn which of the 10 signs we should be aware of, but you can also get involved in activities that can help us eradicate this disease from earth.