Alzheimer's Stages - Three Main Groups
Because every case is different, Alzheimer's stages can only be based on some common patterns of this disease.
People with Alzheimer's stages live on average eight years from the time the symptoms became visible to others, but the rate of survival can be anything from three to twenty years, depending on the age and health conditions.
What Are Alzheimer's Disease Stages and Who Can Be Affected
Alheimer's disease was first identified in 1906.
Alzheimer's disease is a slowly advancing brain disease that results in death of the patient. Although there is an early form of this disease, the main Alzheimer's stages appear in people aged 65 or older. The chance of being affected by Alzheimer's disease increases with age.When the disease is progressing, brain cells are losing the ability to function properly, they get damaged and destroyed.
The brains of individuals with the Alzheimer's stages show two indicators called "plaques" and "tangles." When these structures spread through the brain, they destroy nerve cells, leading to the shrinkage of entire regions of the brain.
In effect the brain areas responsible for various functions like memory and language ability start to loose those functions.
Mild Alzheimer's stages
What Are the Symptoms of Mild Alzheimer's Stages?
Some of the main symptoms of mild Alzheimer's disease include:
- loss of memory,
- confusion,
- forgetfulness,
- problems with speech and
- mood-swing.
These problems are not that obvious during medical examination. They may be more visible to family and friends, but it may be taken as an old age signs or common forgetfulness, unless the individual with Alzheimer's stages don't normally act this way.
Moderate Alzheimer's Stages
What Are The Symptoms of Moderate Alzheimer's stages?
In moderate Alzheimer's stages problems with language and speech may start to develop. This can make the person with Alzheimer's disease feel frustrated and depressed, what can lead to mood-swing.The symptoms of moderate Alzheimer's stages include:
- obsessions or repetitive behaviour
- thinking of doing or experiencing things that never happened
- problem with sleeping
- hallucinations
- problem to control bladder or bowels.
At this Alzheimer's stages individuals become socially withdrawn and may have trouble remembering very recent things. They also show some major gaps in memory (can't recall details like their current address, telephone number, etc.) and it becomes essential to help them with daily activities. Usually there is no need to help with eating or using toilet. But they become more confused about important things like where they are, what is the day of the week or the season.
During the moderate stage of Alzheimer disease, people often start to neglect their personal hygiene.
Severe Alzheimer's Stages
What Are The Symptoms Of Severe Alzheimer's Stages?
As the Alzheimer's stages become severe, the hallucinations and delusions are becoming worst, especially at night time. Individuals are disorientated and confused, their memory continues to worsen and personality changes become visible.They have tendency to wander and become lost.
The person affected by Alzheimer disease may become violent, agitated and demanding, as well as being suspicious of the people surrounding them.
In these severe Alzheimer's stages individuals:
- are losing appetite which reflects in their weight loss
- are more vulnerable to any kind of infections
- have problem swallowing
- have difficulty of moving from place to place on their own
- have problem in changing positions
- show complete loss of short and long-term memory.
At these final Alzheimer's stages most people will require extensive fulltime care in daily activities, since they can't do much on their own.
Their reflexes are abnormal and muscles become rigid. In the last stage of Alzheimer's disease individuals stop responding. They need help with eating and toileting, they are losing ability to speak, ability to control the movement and swallowing is becoming impaired.
Alzheimer's Disease Stages and Statistics
Early detection of Alzheimer's Stages
Today is estimated that 5 million Americans are in various Alzheimer's stages. That includes 10 percent of those over 65 years old and almost 50 percent of those 85 and older.By 2050, estimated number may reach 16 million.
It is still unknown what exactly causes the deterioration of brain cells in Alzheimer's stages, even though there are some factors that make an impact on the development of this disease.
That's why it is very important that anyone experiencing significant memory problems should see a doctor as soon as possible. Early diagnosis and available treatment options can improve quality of people's life and delay Alzheimer's stages.
THE ALZHEIMER'S ACTION PLAN
Praise for The Alzheimer's Action Plan:
"Five million Americans have Alzheimer disease, and an even larger number with mild to moderate memory loss are at high risk of developing this illness. Murali Doraiswamy, a leading clinical researcher in Alzheimer disease, and Lisa Gwyther, a founder of the Alzheimer Association, have co-authored this timely, state-of-the-art book directed at patients with Alzheimer disease, their informants, and their primary care physicians....I fully predict that this exceptionally well-written, reader-friendly book will become the standard resource for patients with Alzheimer disease and their loved ones. Its up-to-date information, patient-centered approach, and focus on prevention and treatment directed at patients with incipient Alzheimer disease distinguish it from The 36 Hour Day by Nancy Mace and Peter Rabins, which is directed at caregivers of patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer disease."
--JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association)
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Alzheimer's Stage - Things You Should Know
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It's very important to detect Alzheimer's stage early enough to provide people affected by Alzheimer's disease with all available treatments, to reverse the process and to improve the quality of their life. Alzheimer is a disease of the brain that ca...
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Alzheimer's News Links
- Other illnesses affect Alzheimer's disease survival
- NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Once elderly patients are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the presence of other illnesses and the patients' ethnic background appear to affect their length of survival,
- Ceregene Phase 2 Clinical Trial for Alzheimer's Disease to be Funded by $5.4 Million Grant From National Institutes of Health
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support a Phase 2 clinical study of Ceregene's CERE-110, a gene therapy product designed to deliver nerve growth factor (NGF) for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. A Phase 1 study of CERE-110 indicated that a single administration of the therapy was well
tolerated, though the study was too small to make a definitive statement about
treatment efficacy. - Detail- swissinfo
- Researchers in Switzerland have found a link between electromagnetic field exposure from power lines and certain neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's disease.
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