A doctor talks about handwriting changes in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases

Stroke and dementia can be diagnosed by changes in a person's handwriting. Maria Cherdak, a senior researcher at the Russian Gerontological Research and Clinical Center of Pirogov University, told about it on January 23.

"Over the years, handwriting can change. The reasons for this can be medical, such as motor impairment or deterioration of vision. Handwriting can also change on the background of stress. After all, stress itself, with the worries and anxieties that fill our lives, affects the way a person writes. However, a number of handwriting changes can also indicate brain diseases. If handwriting changes suddenly, the cause may be a stroke or other acute disease of the nervous system (brain injury, multiple sclerosis)," Cherdak told Gazeta.Ru.

According to her, in Alzheimer's disease, handwriting can change significantly, despite the fact that the disease does not affect the musculoskeletal system of a person, can lead to violations in speech, and therefore the ability to put thoughts in writing.

The doctor noted that the size of the handwriting or the distance between letters may increase, and the line of writing may become uneven and less horizontal. A decrease in writing speed is also a possible cause of the disease.

Attic added that Parkinson's disease is characterized by a decrease in letter size, known as "beaded handwriting," in which letters are larger at the beginning of a line and may become barely visible at the end. Parkinson's disease or cerebellar damage can cause such changes.

Another signal is increased anxiety, which is associated with pressure when writing. This is caused by age-related changes in the body, namely in the small joints of the hand and eyes, which make handwriting sloppy.

Earlier, on November 21, 2024, Oksana Pivovarova, professor of the Department of Therapy at the Medical Faculty of the State University of Education, therapist, told Izvestia about the main risks of dementia and its signs. According to her, smoking, which negatively affects the brain vessels, thereby reducing oxygen supply to tissues and increasing hypoxia, leads to the development of dementia.