Attention deficit is also present in early stage Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's disease is characterised by memory disorders but this study supports the view that attention deficit is also present in the earliest stages of the disease. There are several different aspects to attention; selective attention is the ability to select relevant and ignore irrelevant information while alternating attention refers to fluent and continuous switching of attention from one task to another. This study shows that both of these are impaired early in the disease process. The authors point out that tests for attention can be used as part of an early diagnostic test and that it can distinguish between dementia and depressive disorders. People with Alzheimer's disease will be able to function better if tasks are presented clearly without unnecessary information and they are not required to switch rapidly between tasks.