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Memory loss may not always be the first warning sign that dementia is brewing — changes in behavior or personality might be an early clue.

Researchers recently outlined a syndrome called “mild behavioral impairment” that may be a harbinger of Alzheimer’s or other dementias, and proposed a checklist of symptoms to alert doctors and families.

Losing interest in favorite activities? Getting unusually anxious, aggressive or suspicious? Suddenly making crude comments in public?

“Historically those symptoms have been written off as a psychiatric issue, or as just part of aging,” said Dr. Zahinoor Ismail of the University of Calgary, who presented the checklist at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Toronto.

Now, “when it comes to early detection, memory symptoms don’t have the corner on the market anymore,” he said.

Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, affects more than 5 million people in the U.S., a number growing as the population ages. It gradually strips people of their memory and the ability to think and reason.

Technology specialist Mike Belleville of Douglas, Mass., thought stress was to blame when he found himself getting easily frustrated and angry. Normally patient, he began snapping at co-workers and rolling down his window to yell at other drivers, “things I’d never done before,” Belleville said.

The final red flag was a heated argument with his wife, Cheryl, who found herself wondering, “Who is this person?” When Mike Belleville didn’t remember the strong words the next morning, the two headed straight for a doctor. Physicians tested for depression and a list of other suspects.

Eventually Belleville, now 55, was diagnosed with an early-onset form of dementia. With medication, he no longer gets angry so easily, allowing him to volunteer his computer expertise.

“If you see changes, don’t take it lightly and assume it’s stress,” Cheryl Belleville advised.

Other recent developments

Additional research presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference found that:

• Complex jobs that require working with people may help the brain build resilience against dementia, what’s called “cognitive reserve,” University of Wisconsin researchers reported.

The team tested 284 adults in late middle-age whose brain scans showed changes that have been linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s. Comparing their cognitive ability and their careers, the researchers found those who worked primarily with people, rather than objects or data, functioned better even if brain scans showed more of that quiet damage.

• Preliminary results from a study of “brain training” suggested one type might help delay cognitive impairment.

Researchers examined records from 2,785 older adults who’d participated in a previous trial that compared three cognitive training strategies — to improve memory, reasoning or reaction times — with no intervention. A decade later, that reaction-time training suggested benefit: 12 percent of people who’d completed up to 10 hours had evidence of cognitive decline or dementia compared with 14 percent in the control group, said Dr. Jerri Edwards of the University of South Florida. The figure was lower — 8 percent — for people who got some extra booster training.

“It’s the first hint for a cognitive training intervention like this,” but more research is needed, said Dr. Jonathan King of the National Institute on Aging, who wasn’t involved in the new study.                  — AP