Another common symptom is personality and behavioral changes such as unusual agitation, depression, and paranoia. Judgement and common sense increasingly become impaired. Eventually patients forget how to perform simple tasks, like combing their hair or brushing their teeth. They often lose the ability to recognize faces and objects. Even well remembered information, such as the names of children, is wiped off the memory's blackboard.
Personality changes are more distinctive- ranging from progressive passivity to marked agitation.
About half of patients have paranoid delusions, such as thinking that caregivers or family members are imposters or that their home is not their real home. About 20-30 percent of Alzheimer's patients develop symptoms such as slow movement and trembling. Seizures occur in 10-20 percent of patients, often late in the disease. Unfortunately, at least in early stages, many people fail to recognize these symptoms as something wrong. Symptoms may develop gradually and go unnoticed for a long time.