Alzheimers And Dementia Resources

Alzheimer’s disease affects the human brain especially after 65 years of age. This disease is progressive in nature resulting in the shrinking of the brain. It is a terminal disease first detected by a German psychiatrist, Alois Alzheimer in the year 1906. Each patient contracting Alzheimer’s disease experiences a unique symptom.

There are different distinct stages of severity due to Alzheimer’s disease:

The first stage is the normal condition of an aged person. The person in the first stage is sure that he/she cannot recall names or incidents as done a decade ago. There is a difficulty in using the correct word during conversation. The concentration of the patient is slightly impaired.

The second stage of Alzheimer symptom is mild cognitive impairment which is noticeable by others due to the person’s repeated queries. The person at this stage expresses concentration deficits accompanied by anxiety. The person’s executing capabilities decline to a large extent. He/she exhibits difficulty in learning new skills. The organizational capacity of the affected person is reduced to a considerable extent. Over a period of 2 years, the person manifests symptoms of dementia. This is the stage where medical attention is necessary.

The person in the third stage experiences mild Alzheimer’s disease. The affected person finds difficulty in recalling recent visit to a friend, or the current date or month. Sometimes he/she consciously remembers and recalls important incidents to disprove his/her Alzheimer symptom. His/her capacity to bargain at the grocery shop suffers a setback due to higher forgetfulness but this person finds no difficulty in existing in community settings. Certain complex duties of daily life show signs of retardation. The person realizes his/her incapacity to manage personal finances. The family member close to the patient can note his/her problem in recalling the current date and writing the correct check amount.

Moderate Alzheimer’s disease attacks the patient at the fourth stage. The cognitive deficits reach recognizable levels as to deter the person from independent community survival. Staying with the helper is an important requisite of the patient. The helper has to assist him/her in managing personal finance and food preparation. The person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease at this stage is vulnerable to exploitation by cheats and shows signs of irritation and suspicion over the family members taking care of him/her. The recalling power of this patient is intermittent and even an educated person at this stage cannot count backwards in the steps of 2s starting from 30. The patient’s cognitive ability is impaired to such an extent that there is difficulty in selecting the proper clothing. This stage continues for a period of less than 2 years before passing to the next severe level.

The brain cells are more affected by the next severe stage of the Alzheimer’s disease. The affected person is not in a position to even adjust the temperature of his/her bath water. The patient forgets even the fundamental way of putting on his/her clothing in the correct fashion. With the severity of Alzheimer’s disease increasing, the patient becomes incontinent i.e. he/she does not have control over excretion.

At this developed stage of Alzheimer’s disease, the patient undergoes pathetic experience of mistaking the spouse for the parent who has passed away. The patient’s speech is often paused and unclear. Since the patient is able to realize his/her own deficits not matching with the surroundings, he/she expresses violent behavior with the family members or friends. The doctor counsels the patient regarding the latter’s condition supported by drug administration.
If the patient survives at this age and stage, he/she needs help for walking and cannot hold their head straight. What else can be expected of a person whose control room has been damaged?

This entry was posted on Friday, March 20th, 2009 at 1:06 pm and is filed under Alzheimer's Disease. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.