Most often, AD is diagnosed in people over the age of 65, but early-onset Alzheimer’s can occur much earlier. There are four stages of Alzheimer’s Disease.

1. The Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease
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2. Every 70 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s and in 2006, there
were 26.6 millions sufferers worldwide.
• The disease is predicted to affect 1 in 85 people by 2050.
• That’s why we are taking a closer look in our latest blog series to not only
identify key symptom and the stages of Alzheimer’s but also to identify
what family caregivers and loved ones can do for someone who is living
with this disease.
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3. So what is Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)? Imagine losing your memory so
severely you forget your name and the names of those you love.
• Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, which is serious loss
of cognitive ability in a previously unaffected person, beyond what may
be expected from normal aging.
• There is no cure for Alzheimer’s, which worsens as it progresses and
eventually leads to death.
• Most often, AD is diagnosed in people over the age of 65, but early-onset
Alzheimer’s can occur much earlier.
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4. There are four stages of Alzheimer’s Disease:
• Pre-dementia
• Early
• Moderate
• Advanced
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5. Pre-dementia
• The first symptoms are often mistaken for aging or stress.
• Testing can reveal mild cognitive trouble for up to eight years before an
actual diagnosis of AD.
• The biggest change is memory loss, which involves short-term memory
loss and an inability to learn new information.
• Apathy can be observed at this stage and remains the most prevalent
symptom throughout the course of AD.
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6. Early
• The increasing impairment of learning and memory eventually leads to a
definitive diagnosis. In a small portion of AD victims, problems with
language, executive functions, perception and movements are more
prominent than memory problems.
• Older memories of the person’s life, facts learned and implicit memory
(the body’s memory on how to do things, like using a fork to eat) are
affected to a lesser degree than new facts or memories.
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7. Early
• This stage features a limited vocabulary and decreased word fluency.
• The person is capable of communicating basic ideas.
• Motor tasks such as writing, drawing, dressing or movement coordination
may be present but are unnoticed.
• As the disease progresses, people with AD can continue to do things on
their own, but they may need assistance with the most cognitively
demanding activities.
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8. Moderate
• In this stage, deterioration stymies independence with subjects unable to
perform the most common activities of daily living.
• Speech, reading and writing skills are progressively lost.
• Motor skills decrease, so the risk of falling increases.
• Memory problems worsen, and the person may fail to recognize close
relatives.
• Long-term memory, which previously was available, becomes impaired.
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9. Moderate
• Drastic behavioral changes are common, including wandering, irritability,
crying, outbursts of aggression and resistance to caregiving.
• According to the European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical
Neuroscience, 30 percent of people with AD can become delusional.
Victims can also have trouble controlling their bladder.
• These symptoms can create stress for caregivers.
• The stress can be reduced by moving the person with AD from home care
to long-term care facilities.
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10. Advanced
• During the last stage, the person is completely dependent upon
caregivers. Language is reduced to simple phrases and words, which
leads to complete speech loss.
• Despite this, people can understand emotional signals.
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11. Advanced
• Aggressiveness can still be present, but extreme apathy and exhaustion
are very common.
• In this stage, people are often confined to their bed and lose the ability
to feed themselves.
• AD is terminal, but pneumonia or other external factors are usually the
cause of death.
For even more information and resources on Alzheimer’s Disease,
click here. Or, to find care or support for a loved one, visit
www.brightstarcare.com/lifecare.
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