Untreated ear or sinus infections can cause dizziness and pain. Situations affecting behavior include moving to a new private residence or residential care facility; misperceived threats; or fear and fatigue from trying to make sense of a confusing world. There are two types of treatments for behavioral symptoms: non-drug treatments and prescription medications.Because people with Alzheimer’s gradually lose the ability to communicate, it is important to regularly monitor their comfort and anticipate their needs. Medications can be effective in managing some behavioral symptoms, but they must be used carefully and are most effective when combined with non-drug treatments. Medications should target specific symptoms so that response to treatment can be monitored. Prescribing any drug for a person with Alzheimer’s is medically challenging. Use of drugs for behavioral and psychiatric symptoms should be closely supervised. Some medications, called psychotropic medications (antipsychotics, antidepressants, anti-convulsants and others), are associated with an increased risk of serious side effects. These drugs should only be considered when non-pharmacological approaches are unsuccessful in reducing dementia-related behaviors that are causing physical harm to the person with dementia or his or her caregivers. Cognitive: Symptoms that affect memory, awareness, language, judgment, and an individual’s ability to plan, organize and carry out other thought processes. Behavioral: A group of additional symptoms that occur — at least to some degree — in many individuals with Alzheimer’s. Early on, people may experience personality changes such as irritability, anxiety or depression. In later stages, individuals may develop sleep disturbances; agitation (physical or verbal aggression, general emotional distress, restlessness, pacing, shredding paper or tissues, yelling); delusions (firmly held belief in things that are not real); or hallucinations (seeing, hearing or feeling things that are not there). Individuals with the disease may develop wandering impulses at any stage.FDA-approved: Medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that treats symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.Non-drug: A treatment other than medication that helps relieve symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The Alzheimer’s Association is the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s research. Since 1982, we have awarded over $350 million to more than 2,300 research investigations worldwide. When Dr. Alois Alzheimer first described the disease in 1906, a person in the United States lived an average of about 50 years. Few people reached the age of greatest risk. As a result, the disease was considered rare and attracted little scientific interest. That attitude changed as the average life span increased and scientists began to realize how often Alzheimer’s strikes people in their 70s and 80s. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently estimated the average life expectancy to be 78.8 years. Today, Alzheimer’s is at the forefront of biomedical research, with 90 percent of what we know discovered in the last 20 years. Some of the most remarkable progress has shed light on how Alzheimer’s affects the brain. Better understanding of the disease’s impact may lead to better treatments. Scientists are constantly working to advance our understanding of Alzheimer’s. But without clinical research and the help of human volunteers, we cannot treat, prevent or cure Alzheimer’s. Clinical trials test new interventions or drugs to prevent, detect or treat disease for safety and effectiveness.