The Seven Stages Of Alzheimer's Disease

Dementia is a general term used to describe loss of cognitive functions and behavioral abilities, the most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease was first identified in 1906 by German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer while treating a patient who was shown different objects and then couldn’t remember what they were (Alzheimer's Association). Alzheimer’s disease is defined as an age related disease characterized by memory loss, mental confusion, and in later stages a near total loss of mental abilities. In 2013 it was estimated that five million American’s have the disease, which was the sixth leading cause of death for adults in The United States of America (Office of Information Services). This essay will contain information …show more content…
Often times the seven stages are reduced to three classifications, early, middle, and late. More serious symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are placed into two separate groups, cognitive and psychiatric. Cognitive symptoms include loss of memory (early stage), inability to effectively communicate (late stage), inability to do perform daily activities or pre-programmed motor tasks (middle stage), and the inability to interpret signals from their five senses (late stage). These symptoms are also known as the four A’s of Alzheimer’s, amnesia, aphasia, apraxia, and agnosia (Alzheimer's Foundation of America ). Psychiatric symptoms of Alzheimer’s include personality changes, depression, hallucinations, and delusions. Early stages of Alzheimer’s often become evident with personality changes such as isolation, irritability and apathy. Depression can manifest in any stage of the disease and can be treated even if the individual is in the late stages of Alzheimer’s. Hallucinations and delusions occur most often in the middle stages of the disease and can be very upsetting to the individual with Alzheimer’s. Typical hallucinations of individuals are sensory impairment such as hearing loss and poor vision, often times these hallucinations take place with the elderly. Common reactions include anxiety, agitation, and verbal outbursts (Alzheimer's Foundation of America ). These symptoms highly impacts an individual’s relationships as well as their behavior in groups. Alzheimer’s patient’s relationships sometimes change once they share their diagnosis with others, who may feel uncomfortable and are not sure how to respond. Relationships with spouses, family, and friends will change as the disease develops and the individual becomes increasingly dependent on