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Alzheimer's Information

Provided by the Alzheimer's Association
Introduction

Alzheimer's (AHLZ-high-merz) disease is a progressive brain disorder that gradually destroys a person's memory and ability to learn, reason, make judgments, communicate and carry out daily activities. As Alzheimer's progresses, individuals may also experience changes in personality and behavior, such as anxiety, suspiciousness or agitation, as well as delusions or hallucinations.

Although there is currently no cure for Alzheimer's, new treatments are on the horizon as a result of accelerating insight into the biology of the disease. Research has also shown that effective care and support can improve quality of life for individuals and their caregivers over the course of the disease from diagnosis to the end of life.

Stages of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease advances at widely different rates. The duration of the illness may often vary from 3 to 20 years. The areas of the brain that control memory and thinking skills are affected first, but as the disease progresses, cells die in other regions of the brain. Eventually, the person with Alzheimer's will need complete care. If the individual has no other serious illness, the loss of brain function itself will cause death.

Stage 1:No impairment (normal function)  Unimpaired individuals experience no memory problems and none are evident to a health care professional during a medical interview.
Stage 2:Very mild cognitive decline (normal age-related changes)  Individuals may feel as if they have memory lapses, especially in forgetting familiar words or names or the location of keys, eyeglasses or other everyday objects. But these problems are not evident during a medical examination or apparent to friends, family or co-workers.
Stage 3:Mild cognitive declineEarly-stage Alzheimer's can be diagnosed in some, but not all, individuals with these symptoms  Friends, family or co-workers begin to notice deficiencies. Problems with memory or concentration may be measurable in clinical testing or discernible during a detailed medical interview. Common difficulties include:
  • Word- or name-finding problems noticeable to family or close associates
  • Decreased ability to remember names when introduced to new people
  • Performance issues in social or work settings noticeable to family, friends or co-workers
  • Reading a passage and retaining little material
  • Losing or misplacing a valuable object
  • Decline in ability to plan or organize
Stage 4:Moderate cognitive decline(Mild or early-stage Alzheimer's disease)  At this stage, a careful medical interview detects clear-cut deficiencies in the following areas:
  • Decreased knowledge of recent occasions or current events
  • Impaired ability to perform challenging mental arithmetic-for example, to count backward from 100 by 7s
  • Decreased capacity to perform complex tasks, such as marketing, planning dinner for guests or paying bills and managing finances
  • Reduced memory of personal history
  • The affected individual may seem subdued and withdrawn, especially in socially or mentally challenging situations
Stage 5:Moderately severe cognitive decline(Moderate or mid-stage Alzheimer's disease)  Major gaps in memory and deficits in cognitive function emerge. Some assistance with day-to-day activities becomes essential. At this stage, individuals may:
  • Be unable during a medical interview to recall such important details as their current address, their telephone number or the name of the college or high school from which they graduated
  • Become confused about where they are or about the date, day of the week, or season
  • Have trouble with less challenging mental arithmetic; for example, counting backward from 40 by 4s or from 20 by 2s
  • Need help choosing proper clothing for the season or the occasion
  • Usually retain substantial knowledge about themselves and know their own name and the names of their spouse or children
  • Usually require no assistance with eating or using the toilet
Stage 6:Severe cognitive decline(Moderately severe or mid-stage Alzheimer's disease)  Memory difficulties continue to worsen, significant personality changes may emerge and affected individuals need extensive help with customary daily activities. At this stage, individuals may:
  • Lose most awareness of recent experiences and events as well as of their surroundings
  • Recollect their personal history imperfectly, although they generally recall their own name
  • Occasionally forget the name of their spouse or primary caregiver but generally can distinguish familiar from unfamiliar faces
  • Need help getting dressed properly; without supervision, may make such errors as putting pajamas over daytime clothes or shoes on wrong feet
  • Experience disruption of their normal sleep/waking cycle
  • Need help with handling details of toileting (flushing toilet, wiping and disposing of tissue properly)
  • Have increasing episodes of urinary or fecal incontinence
  • Experience significant personality changes and behavioral symptoms, including suspiciousness and delusions (for example, believing that their caregiver is an impostor); hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not really there); or compulsive, repetitive behaviors such as hand-wringing or tissue shredding
  • Tend to wander and become lost
Stage 7:Very severe cognitive decline(Severe or late-stage Alzheimer's disease)  This is the final stage of the disease when individuals lose the ability to respond to their environment, the ability to speak and, ultimately, the ability to control movement.
  • Frequently individuals lose their capacity for recognizable speech, although words or phrases may occasionally be uttered
  • Individuals need help with eating and toileting and there is general incontinence of urine
  • Individuals lose the ability to walk without assistance, then the ability to sit without support, the ability to smile, and the ability to hold their head up. Reflexes become abnormal and muscles grow rigid. Swallowing is impaired.


Alzheimer's Facts

Alzheimer's disease is not a normal part of aging. It is a devastating disorder of the brain's nerve cells that impairs memory, thinking, and behavior and leads, ultimately, to death. The impact of Alzheimer's on individuals, families and our health care system make the disease one of our nation's greatest medical, social and fiscal challenges.

An estimated 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease. The number of Americans with Alzheimer's has more than doubled since 1980. The number of Americans with Alzheimer's disease will continue to grow - 2050 the number of individuals with Alzheimer's could range from 11.3 million to 16 million.

1 in 10 Americans said, in a Gallup poll, that they had a family member with Alzheimer's and 1 in 3 knew someone with the disease.

Increasing age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer's. One in 10 individuals over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 are affected. Rare, inherited forms of Alzheimer's disease can strike individuals as early as their 30's and 40's.

A person with Alzheimer's disease will live an average of eight years and as many as 20 years or more from the onset of symptoms as estimated by relatives. From the time of diagnosis, people with Alzheimer's disease survive about half as long as those of similar age without dementia.

More than 7 out of 10 people with Alzheimer's disease live at home, where almost 75 percent of their care is provided by family and friends. The remainder is "paid" care costing an average of $12,500 per year. Families pay almost all of that out of pocket.

Half of all nursing home residents have Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder.

The average cost for nursing home care is $42,000 per year but can exceed $70,000 per year in some areas of the country.

The average lifetime cost of care for an individual with Alzheimer's is $174,000.

Finding a treatment that could delay onset by five years could reduce the number of individuals with Alzheimer's disease by nearly 50 percent after 50 years.

These and many more facts can be found on the Alzheimer's Association website www.alz.org.