Alzheimer's: Dementia and Especially Hard Time
What is Alzheimer’s?
Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually even the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most people with Alzheimer’s, symptoms first appear after age 60. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia among older people. Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning—thinking, remembering, and reasoning—and behavioral abilities, to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities. Dementia ranges in severity from the mildest stage, when it is just beginning to affect a person’s functioning, to the most severe stage, when the person must depend completely on others for basic activities of daily living.
What are the stages of Alzheimer’s?
There are five stages associated with Alzheimer 's disease: preclinical Alzheimer 's disease, mild cognitive impairment, mild dementia due to Alzheimer 's, moderate dementia due to Alzheimer 's and severe dementia due to Alzheimer 's.
1. Preclinical Alzheimer 's disease
Alzheimer 's disease begins long before any symptoms become apparent. This stage is called preclinical Alzheimer 's disease. You won 't notice symptoms during this stage, nor will those around you. This stage of Alzheimer 's can last for years, possibly even decades. Although you won 't notice any changes, new imaging technologies can now identify deposits of a substance called amyloid beta that have been associated with Alzheimer 's disease. The ability to identify these early deposits may be especially important as new treatments are developed for Alzheimer 's disease.
2. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer 's disease
People with mild cognitive impairment have mild changes in their memory and thinking ability. These changes aren 't significant enough to affect work or relationships yet. People with MCI may have memory lapses when it comes to information that is usually easily remembered,
Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually even the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most people with Alzheimer’s, symptoms first appear after age 60. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia among older people. Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning—thinking, remembering, and reasoning—and behavioral abilities, to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities. Dementia ranges in severity from the mildest stage, when it is just beginning to affect a person’s functioning, to the most severe stage, when the person must depend completely on others for basic activities of daily living.
What are the stages of Alzheimer’s?
There are five stages associated with Alzheimer 's disease: preclinical Alzheimer 's disease, mild cognitive impairment, mild dementia due to Alzheimer 's, moderate dementia due to Alzheimer 's and severe dementia due to Alzheimer 's.
1. Preclinical Alzheimer 's disease
Alzheimer 's disease begins long before any symptoms become apparent. This stage is called preclinical Alzheimer 's disease. You won 't notice symptoms during this stage, nor will those around you. This stage of Alzheimer 's can last for years, possibly even decades. Although you won 't notice any changes, new imaging technologies can now identify deposits of a substance called amyloid beta that have been associated with Alzheimer 's disease. The ability to identify these early deposits may be especially important as new treatments are developed for Alzheimer 's disease.
2. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer 's disease
People with mild cognitive impairment have mild changes in their memory and thinking ability. These changes aren 't significant enough to affect work or relationships yet. People with MCI may have memory lapses when it comes to information that is usually easily remembered,
References: http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/alzheimers-disease-fact-sheet http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/in-depth/alzheimers-stages/art-20048448?pg=1 https://www.alz.org/what-is-dementia.asp http://umm.edu/health/medical/reports/articles/alzheimers-disease