RESIDENTS are being urged to learn more about the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

The disease is the most common cause of dementia, with symptoms that include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language.

To combat the number of people affected by this, health teams have issued signs of Alzheimer’s so people are aware of what to look out for.

Dr Phil Goodwin, Governing Body GP at South Cheshire and Vale Royal Clinical Commissioning Groups, said: “There is a stigma associated with Alzheimer’s that the early symptoms are a part of normal ageing.

Alzheimer’s is not simply ‘old age’ and is in fact a progressive disease.

“This stigma is part of the reason why raising awareness is so important.

“The number of people living with Alzheimer’s is set to rapidly increase and even though the disease mainly affects people over the age of 65, there are more than 17,000 people in the UK under 65 who also live with the disease.

“As a community, we need to support everyone experiencing Alzheimer’s whether that may be those suffering or their friends, family and carers.”

Early symptoms include forgetting about recent conversations or events, repeating themselves regularly, showing poor judgement, becoming less flexible and more hesitant to try new things.

It is estimated that 46 million people live with dementia with the number affected set to rise to 131 million by 2050.