For most people, Alzheimer’s disease is the first condition they think of when they hear the word dementia. The degenerative brain disease is the most common type of dementia, but Alzheimer’s is far from the only one.
It’s normal to forget a word here and there—especially when you’re put on the spot. But new research suggests that regularly struggling with finding the right words within a reasonable time could signal changes in the brain linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The study, which was published in the journal Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, suggests that verbal reaction time could be an important thing for doctors to keep tabs on in the future.
Still, “this lines up with what we have believed all along,” says James Powers, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Powers says that there are several theories on why someone may have trouble with word finding when they have Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias. 'It seems to be that processing speed is the issue.”Powers stresses this, though: Struggling with word finding and speaking more slowly doesn’t mean you have dementia.
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