In the later stages, memory loss becomes far more severe. A person may not recognize family members, may forget relationships, call family members by other names, or become confused about the location of home or the passage of time. He or she may forget the purpose of common items, such as a pen or a fork.
Stage Six: Severe Cognitive Decline
Also known as Middle Dementia, stage six marks a period in which a person requires substantial assistance to carry out day-to-day activities. They may have little memory of recent events and forget the names of close friends or family members.
This is referred to as 'prosopagnosia' or 'face blindness'. If a person with dementia is failing to recognise you or others for the first time, or seems distressed in your company, there may be another underlying cause, such as an infection, constipation or a reaction to medication changes.
Memory Loss: Because Alzheimer's damages the brain, memory declines. Depending on where the damage is in the brain, facial recognition and the ability to recall names, events, and fundamental information can become impaired.
A person with dementia may forget about a past bereavement. This can be due to memory loss, confusion or time-shifting, which is when a person believes that they are living in an earlier time in their life.
Forgetting family members or not recognizing familiar people isn't necessarily the hallmark of all types of dementia. It's actually more common in Alzheimer's disease, and much more rare in vascular dementia, a form of dementia that occurs when the brain is damaged due to blood supply problems.
Is Alzheimer's passed on by mother or father? Alzheimer's is not passed on by the mother more than the father, or vice versa. A mother or father may pass on an “Alzheimer's gene” or mutation that increases your risk. Even if both your parents pass on a risk gene, your Alzheimer's risk is higher, but not certain.
Alzheimer's disease does not change a person's need for love and affection, but it changes many aspects of a relationship. You may lose the companionship of someone who has been close and important to you. You'll need to find different ways to express your feelings.
Encourage the person to use a diary, journal or calendar to record events and conversations. Give simple answers to questions and repeat them as often as needed. You can also write the answer down so that the person has a note of it. It won't help to tell them that they have heard the information before.
The physical changes of late-stage dementia are partly why the person is likely to need much more support with daily living. At this stage they may: walk more slowly, with a shuffle and less steadily – eventually they may spend more time in a chair or in bed.
Administration: The examiner reads a list of 5 words at a rate of one per second, giving the following instructions: “This is a memory test. I am going to read a list of words that you will have to remember now and later on. Listen carefully. When I am through, tell me as many words as you can remember.
Sleeping more and more is a common feature of later-stage dementia. As the disease progresses, the damage to a person's brain becomes more extensive and they gradually become weaker and frailer over time.
Receiving a life-changing dementia diagnosis doesn't strip a person of their humanity or personhood. People with dementia think about the same things that any human thinks about — emotions, relationships, daily life, tasks to accomplish, and more.
The Mini-Cog test.
A third test, known as the Mini-Cog, takes 2 to 4 minutes to administer and involves asking patients to recall three words after drawing a picture of a clock. If a patient shows no difficulties recalling the words, it is inferred that he or she does not have dementia.
The longest stage of Alzheimer's disease is the middle stage, also known as moderate Alzheimer's disease. This stage can last for several years, and it is characterized by a decline in cognitive function, memory loss, and changes in behavior and personality.
I'm going to discuss five of the most basic ones here: 1) Don't tell them they are wrong about something, 2) Don't argue with them, 3) Don't ask if they remember something, 4) Don't remind them that their spouse, parent or other loved one is dead, and 5) Don't bring up topics that may upset them.
Getting upset, worried, and angry more easily. Acting depressed or not interested in things. Hiding things or believing other people are hiding things. Imagining things that aren't there.
For example, a sudden deterioration or change may be a sign that an infection has led to delirium. Or it may suggest that someone has had a stroke. A stroke is particularly common in some kinds of vascular dementia and may cause the condition to get worse in a series of 'steps'.
Problems can include wandering and getting lost, trouble handling money and paying bills, repeating questions, taking longer to complete normal daily tasks, and personality and behavior changes.
Hearing can be the last sense that a person loses at death. This shows that you care and shows respect. If family are at their loved one's bedside, stay with the person when the relative has a break, and again hold the person's hand. The care team would need to plan how you can provide this kind of one-to-one support.
If a person's dementia has progressed far enough that they need more care and support than you can provide, it may be time for them to go into a care home. At this point, they may need 24-hour care. Dementia is progressive, meaning the person with the condition will require more care and support as time goes on.
The causes probably include a combination of age-related changes in the brain, along with genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors.
Women are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD), comprising approximately two-thirds of all Alzheimer's patients as well as the majority of caregivers for Alzheimer's patients. Women are nearly twice as likely as men to develop Alzheimer's and live longer than men following an AD diagnosis.