Alzheimer disease, typically develops slowly and gradually decline in cognitive abilities (like memory, reasoning) affecting the brain functions including movements, language, behavior, abstract reasoning and judgment. Alzheimer disease could be from mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe Alzheimer’s disease or explained as stages falling in general division of early-stage, mid-stage and late-stage categories.
Experts have made a basic framework, stating the development of Alzheimer disease in its stage pattern of development. This framework is based on a system developed by Barry Reisberg, M.D., Clinical Director of the New York University School of Medicine’s Silberstein Aging and Dementia Research Center.
The stage pattern development of Alzheimer’s Disease provides for useful reference for how the disease may unfold and thus helping the family members for future aspect. Though developing of the Alzheimer disease may or may not happen according to the framework, their progress may not be at the same rate as people with Alzheimer disease die an average of four to six years after diagnosis. But Alzheimer disease can have duration varying from three to even prolonging till twenty years before killing the patient.
Stage 1: No impairment
The patient will be normally functioning like any other normal human being. This individual will experience no memory problems and thus the Alzheimer disease will not be evident to health care professional.
Stage 2: Very Mild Cognitive decline
Basically in this stage the person with Alzheimer disease will start having the basic symptoms of very mild cognitive decline like forgetting of glasses, memory lapse or loss especially of names or familiar word and locations. But these symptoms will basically be ignored or be termed as normal age related changes, whereas these are the early signs of Alzheimer disease. These symptoms again will not be evident to medical practitioner and even to family, friends or co workers.
Stage 3: Mild Cognitive decline
This is the stage when people living with the affected person recognize of him having some problem. This is the stage when Alzheimer disease can be diagnosed, yet all individuals suffering are not diagnosed in this stage. In this stage, patient suffers form problems with memory and concentration.
Basic symptoms of this stage are:
Difficulty in using word or names
Difficulty in ability to remember new names of person introduced
Performance issues in social and work settings
Reading difficulty as passage is little retained.
Losing and misplacing valuable object
Problem in planning and organizing
Stage 4: Moderate cognitive decline
A careful examination leads to the confirmation of person being suffering from Alzheimer disease. This is the mild stage of Alzheimer disease. As the patient starts experiencing:
Forgetting recent events or current occasions, at times they remember and at times they forget.
Impairment in mental arithmetic
Difficulty in doing complex task
Reduced memory of personal history
Feeling of solitude and isolation as affected individual feel subdued and withdrawn.
Stage 5: Moderate Severe cognitive decline
This is the alarming stage where basically family members should start putting on more attention to the patient. As the patient starts suffering from major gaps in memory and deficits in cognitive function. Assistance with day-to-day activities is now essential. Basically in this stage the individual will:
During a medical interview will be unable to recall important details like current address, their telephone number which thus is alarming fact that not to leave them to wander alone.
State of confusion: they express lots of confusion as why they are here, what were they doing and what date it is or even matter of fact what season it is.
Need help choosing proper clothing for the season or the occasion
Troubles with mental arithmetic; thus handling financial activity could be strain.
Though at this stage, it is not as sever as they usually retain important knowledge about themselves like knowing their own name and the names of their spouse or children.
At this stage they don’t require assistance with eating or using the toilet
Stage 6: Severe cognitive decline
The stage when the individual needs his family support to the maximum, as memory difficulties get severe and personality of the individual may even change and there is extensive need for care of the patient as customary daily activities also become a hassle for the patient.
The individual will have problems and symptoms like:
Lose most attentiveness of recent experiences and awareness of events as well as of their surroundings
Recollection of their personal history is imperfect, although generally recall their own name
At times forgetting the name of their spouse, primary caregiver though can generally distinguish familiar faces from unfamiliar faces
Need help with dressing properly as they may make errors like putting pajamas over daytime clothes, wearing winter clothes in summer or shoes on wrong feet
Experience disorder of their normal sleep/waking cycle
Need help even when going toileting, they may need help with flushing toilet, wiping and disposing of tissue properly.
Have increasing episodes of urinary or fecal incontinence
Experience considerable personality changes and showing off behavioral symptoms like suspiciousness and delusions. For example, they tend to believe that their caregiver is an impostor, may even have hallucinations i.e. seeing or hearing things that are not really there; or even suffer from compulsive and repetitive behaviors that can be hand-wringing or tissue shredding
Tend to go wandering and then become lost not knowing how they came there.
Stage 7: Very sever cognitive decline
This is the late stage of Alzheimer disease, the final in framework when the individual lose most of its abilities and his muscles and nerves starts degenerating and lose of weight is tremendous. This is the stage, where it is better to involve a nurse or put them in health care center, as the people who are living in with patient will feel very sad and their inability to help much will cause them pain.
Individual will:
Loose ability to respond to environment
Loose Ability to speak: losing capacity for recognizable speech though word or phrases may be uttered.
Loose Ability to control movement and reflexes: need help with even the basic activity like eating, and toileting. Loose ability to walk without assistance, as stage deteriorates; ability to sit without support will also go.
Loose smile: they will have no expression on their face, as they will not able to smile or even uphold their head. Reflexes become abnormal, swallowing impaired and muscles becoming rigid.
