Nobody likes Alzheimer’s. It’s this nasty disease that can cause a loss of memory, and there isn’t a magic potion that’ll rid you of it. And Alzheimer’s just became even more disturbing.

You see, researchers have recently uncovered a startling fact: there’s a previously undiscovered type of Alzheimer’s disease with a different set of symptoms that can easily be mistaken for other psychological problems! Like a stealth bomber, this kind of Alzheimer’s isn’t so easily detected. Kind of scary.

But don’t let that keep you up at night, tossing and turning.

It is very common to find everyone, including doctors, associating Alzheimer’s disease with memory problems. But a new study indicates that about 1 in 10 patients have a different type of Alzheimer’s disease called Hippocampal Sparing Alzheimer’s (HSP).

Hippocampus is the region of the brain associated with memory. So this variation actually spares the patients from memory loss, but makes the diagnosis more difficult!

“Ehh,” you say, “if memory isn’t affected, why exactly should I be worried?” Good question.

So here’s the catch: people with HSP have unique symptoms like angry outbursts, vision problems and bizarre behavior – all of which can easily be mistaken for psychological problems like hysteria or bipolar disorder. It is estimated that roughly 50 percent of the time, patients are misdiagnosed and prescribed completely different drugs that does nothing to help the prevailing condition. And that’s just slightly worrisome.

Here’s the lowdown on what the research team from Mayo Clinic did:

• They examined the brains of about 1800 patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
• In some patients, they found that a particular type of protein called ‘tau’ formed tangles in the regions of the brain associated with speech, vision, motor awareness and behavior control.
• Not surprisingly, then, the symptoms correspond to the parts of the brain that have been affected.

What’s the take-home message of all this? Well, simply put, HSP is a type of Alzheimer’s disease without memory loss but a different set of symptoms. There are warning signs to be on the lookout for, too, such angry or profane outbursts, vision problems, trouble with language, and difficulty with limb control.

And guys, I hate to break this to you, but men are more prone to be affected by this form of Alzheimer’s disease and it has a tendency to set in earlier – in the late 50’s or 60’s.

But fortunately, there are steps you can take (literally!) to keep Alzheimer’s at bay: walk for at least 30 minutes every day. Make sure you keep your blood pressure under control and your mind active by solving crosswords, word puzzles, math stuff and logical analysis. Sounds like fun, right?

It’s a fact that if you have high blood pressure, you’re at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s. That doesn’t sound so good. On the bright side, though, you could do just 3 easy exercises that’ll send your blood pressure down to where it should be. Check it out…