Alzheimer's Disease

By: Ryan D. Johnson

Stages

• Four Stages–Pre Dementia

– Early Dementia

–Moderate Dementia

–Advanced Dementia

Pre Dementia (Early)

• Often mistaken for stress

• Problems with memory

• Difficulty in doing complex tasks

Early Dementia (Early)

• Increased difficulty in learning

• Difficulty in language or speech

• Old memories are not as effected

• Sufferers appear clumsy

Moderate Dementia (Later)

• Hinders independence

• Outbursts of anger or crying

• Speech difficulties ensue: language recall becomes hard

• Daily life activities become longer and more difficult

Advanced Dementia (Later)

• Completely dependent on caregivers

• Language is simple words or phrases

• Anger outbursts still occur

• Tiredness is common

Advanced Dementia (Later) Cont.

• Patients are normally bedridden

• Patients usually succumb to pneumonia not the disease

What Happens?

• Neuroinflammation causes complications

• Amyloid beta deposits cause Down Syndrome like symptoms

• Tau proteins bind to each other creating neuron tangles

Statistics

• Usually affects ages 65 and over (rare cases of people in their 40’s)

• 26,600,000 people world wide have Alzheimer’s disease (number is expected to quadruple by 2050)

• 90% of nursing home residents suffer from Alzheimer's