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Researchers believe change in memory may be sign of Alzheimer’s

On Behalf of | Jul 18, 2013 | Injuries

With about 35 million people in the world living with dementia, it is safe to say that the condition, including the most common type of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, is a serious problem. For many in Atlanta who are diagnosed with the condition, it comes after years of struggling to remember things that they never had problems remembering before. Though Alzheimer’s typically affects older groups, there are some who first feel the effects while working, eventually forcing them out of their jobs.

Though many of these Atlanta residents with Alzheimer’s may know they could get disability benefits, they may not know how to go about applying. For others, they may be so far gone that a loved one must do so for them, but the process of gathering supporting evidence, which can show the Social Security Administration that an individual is no longer able to work, may be best left to a disability benefits lawyer. Choosing what will help and what will hurt a case is just one part of how lawyers help applicants with their disability benefits claims.

Although some people may have seen individuals quickly turn from sharp and witty to incoherent and forgetful, it seems that research indicates that those people who have reported actual declines in memory or mental faculties are often diagnosed with early onset or regular Alzheimer’s later. Those initial memory problems may be warning signs that something more is coming, even if those initial problems do little to interrupt a career.

Over time, however, an individual’s condition can get substantially worse to where he or she must stop working and sometimes hire a caregiver. It is for those individuals for whom disability benefits are so important.

Source: The Associated Press, “Memory decline may be earliest sign of dementia,” Marilynn Marchione, July 17, 2013

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