Alzheimer's progresses in stages, as the plaques and tangles spread in a predictable pattern throughout the brain. This progression won't be identical for everyone, but it does provide a general guideline for what to expect of people with ALZ.
This very short video illustrates this progression: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq_Er-tqPsA This progression won't be identical for everyone, but it does provide a general guideline for what to expect of people with ALZ.
ALZ is the most widespread kind of dementia (~60%). There are several others that are well-known (LBD, FTD, Vascular) plus some that are rare. And it is not impossible to have more than one kind of dementia concurrently.
For the 40% of persons with Non-ALZ dementia, the physical progression in the brain is not the same as the pattern for ALZ. Therefore the "stages" may be very different than the stages identified and studies in ALZ. For one small example, hallucinations come (if at all) in the later stages of ALZ. In Lewy Body Dementia hallucinations may occur as one of the very first symptoms. Many people with ALZ lose the ability to recognize loved ones, during the later stages. People who have LBD typically don't lose this ability. (People used to ask me "does your husband still know who you are?" He knew that right up to his death. There are about 50 kinds of dementia, and they do not all progress like ALZ does.)
If you look at that short video, the final two stages are generally what happens at the very end of most dementia cases. The other stages may or may not be similar for other kinds of dementia.
Also note that in those kinds of dementia that do progress in recognizable "stages" the length of each stage can very widely from one person to another.
https://www.agingcare.com/articles/stages-of-alzheimers-disease-118964.htm
This very short video illustrates this progression: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq_Er-tqPsA This progression won't be identical for everyone, but it does provide a general guideline for what to expect of people with ALZ.
ALZ is the most widespread kind of dementia (~60%). There are several others that are well-known (LBD, FTD, Vascular) plus some that are rare. And it is not impossible to have more than one kind of dementia concurrently.
For the 40% of persons with Non-ALZ dementia, the physical progression in the brain is not the same as the pattern for ALZ. Therefore the "stages" may be very different than the stages identified and studies in ALZ. For one small example, hallucinations come (if at all) in the later stages of ALZ. In Lewy Body Dementia hallucinations may occur as one of the very first symptoms. Many people with ALZ lose the ability to recognize loved ones, during the later stages. People who have LBD typically don't lose this ability. (People used to ask me "does your husband still know who you are?" He knew that right up to his death. There are about 50 kinds of dementia, and they do not all progress like ALZ does.)
If you look at that short video, the final two stages are generally what happens at the very end of most dementia cases. The other stages may or may not be similar for other kinds of dementia.
Also note that in those kinds of dementia that do progress in recognizable "stages" the length of each stage can very widely from one person to another.