What are Stages of Alzheimer's Disease?
Alzheimer's disease typically develops slowly and causes a gradual decline in cognitive abilities, usually over a span of seven to 10 years. Alzheimer's disease can last more than a decade. It eventually affects nearly all brain functions, including memory, movement, language, behavior, judgment and abstract reasoning. As the disease progresses you have to notice the type of behaviors that are common in each of the Alzheimer's disease stages.
Dividing the progression of Alzheimer's disease into different Alzheimer's disease stages can help you plan for the future, but remember that not everyone will experience the same symptoms of Alzheimer's disease or the disease will not progress at the same rate. Because the stages overlap, it is difficult to definitely place a person in a particular stage. However, the progression is always toward a worsening of symptoms. Depending upon the progression of disease of a individual, Alzheimer's disease stages can be roughly divided into three categories mild, moderate and severe. These main categories of Alzheimer's disease stages can further divided into sub-categories. Thus there are totally seven Alzheimer's disease stages.
No impairment (STAGE 1)
No impairment or normal function is the first stage of Alzheimer's disease. In this stage unimpaired individuals experience no memory problems and none are evident to a health care professional during a medical interview.
Very mild cognitive decline (STAGE 2)
This may be early symptom of Alzheimer's disease or may be a normal age-related change. Individuals may feel as if they have memory lapses, especially in forgetting familiar words or names. They may forget 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.
Mild cognitive decline (STAGE 3)
In this stage memory loss or other cognitive deficits are noticeable by friends, family or co-workers yet the person can compensate for them and continue to function independently. This stagecan be diagnosed in some and may be measurable in clinical testing or discernible during a detailed medical interview. They may face problems in finding a word or name, which is noticeable to family or close associates. They may have decreased ability to remember names when introduced to new people and may lose or misplace a valuable object. They often have decreased attention span and less motivation to complete tasks.
Moderate cognitive decline (STAGE 4)
In this stage, a careful medical interview detects clear-cut deficiencies in the individual. The person may have decreased knowledge of recent occasions or current events and decreased capacity to perform complex tasks, such as planning dinner for guests, paying bills and managing finances. He sometimes may forget his own history. The affected individual may seem subdued and withdrawn, especially in socially or mentally challenging situations.
Moderately severe cognitive decline (STAGE 5)
In this stage major gaps in memory and deficits in cognitive function emerge. People with Alzheimer's may require some assistance with day-to-day activities. During a medical interview they may be unable to recall important details as their current address, their telephone number or the name of the college or high school from which they graduated. They become totally confused regarding where they are or about the date, day of the week or season. They often need help in choosing proper clothing for the season or the occasion. Usually they won't require assistance with eating or using the toilet.
Severe cognitive decline (STAGE 6)
In the sixth stage of 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 forget their own history, although they generally recall their own name. They occasionally forget the name of their spouse but can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar faces. They experience significant personality changes and behavioral symptoms, including suspiciousness, delusions and hallucinations. They forget the recent experiences and events as well as of their surroundings. Need help with handling details of toileting. They experience increasing episodes of urinary or fecal incontinence.

