New research shows that Alzheimer's disease can affect finances first

One day, Renee Packel received a call from her homeowner's association that asked for unpaid fees on the residence in which she lived with her husband, Arthur. Later, she discovered that other bills had gone unpaid as well.


Renee soon found out that Arthur had suddenly stopped paying their household expenses because he had started to develop Alzheimer's disease, which had made him incapable of handling financial matters.


New research may explain Packel's behavior, as studies have shown that one of the first indicators of dementia is difficulty dealing with and understanding money.


In order to pay the debt which the couple had accrued, Mrs Packel had to sell her husband's business and their home.

She now has to make ends meet by working as a receptionist, while sending her husband to a center for Alzheimer's care.


The Packels are not the only couple to go through this ordeal, and many financial advisers are attempting to prepare for an increased number of these cases as the baby boomer generation ages.


Jean Georges claims that she initially noticed something was wrong when her husband, Leonard, began making illogical investment decisions and became unable to write letters, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.


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