When a loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, it’s natural to feel emotions like grief, anxiety, and uncertainty about the future. But with early detection and compassionate, proactive care, it’s possible to slow down disease progression and continue enjoying quality time together.
In this Alzheimer’s guide, we’ll help you better understand the disease, including common symptoms, its different stages, and memory care options to explore.
- What Is Alzheimer's Disease?
- What Causes Alzheimer's Disease?
- Signs & Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease
- How to Prevent or Slow Alzheimer's Disease
- Treatment Options for Alzheimer's Disease
- Care Options for Alzheimer's Disease
- Alzheimer's Disease FAQs
What Is Alzheimer’s Disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, accounting for an estimated 60-80% of all cases. It occurs when plaques and bundles of proteins build up between nerve cells in the brain, ultimately causing brain cell death.
People who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease often experience symptoms like confusion, agitation, memory loss, and inability to care for themselves. Alzheimer’s is a progressive, degenerative condition, which means that symptoms grow more severe over time.
While there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, its symptoms can be managed through various medications and therapies. Patients and families often benefit from caregiving or memory care services, which can help reduce the mental, emotional, and physical impacts of Alzheimer’s disease.
How Does Alzheimer’s Affect the Brain?
Nerve (brain) cells contain proteins called “tau proteins.” In people with Alzheimer’s disease, tau proteins become detached from their normal positions, bundling together in structures called neurofibrillary tangles.
Additionally, other proteins called amyloid-beta form clumps called plaques between nerve cells. This causes inflammation and cell damage, disrupting the cells’ ability to communicate and function.
Early, Middle, & Late Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s is a degenerative disease that progresses in stages from mild to moderate to severe. If you or someone in your family has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, it’s important to understand how needs and abilities may change over time at each stage of the disease.
- Early Stage: In the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, people experience noticeable changes in cognitive status but can often safely remain at home with support.
- Middle Stage: During the middle stage of Alzheimer’s, symptoms become more severe and may include difficulty recognizing family members.
- Late Stage: Late stage Alzheimer’s disease is marked by loss of mobility, inability to communicate clearly, and increased dependence on caregivers.
Difference Between Alzheimer’s and Other Memory Loss Conditions
Memory loss is a major part of Alzheimer’s disease, but it’s not the same as age-related forgetfulness. The difference between memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease is that Alzheimer’s gets progressively more severe, rather than being temporary or occasional. The symptoms are consistent, such as disorientation and language problems, that increasingly impact daily life.
What Causes Alzheimer’s Disease?
The root cause of Alzheimer's disease is unknown. However, scientists believe it likely results from a combination of genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. The single greatest risk factor is advanced age, with early-onset cases making up less than 10% of all U.S. Alzheimer’s diagnoses.
Alzheimer’s Risk Factors
There are multiple risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, including age, genetics, and cardiovascular health. Your lifestyle and environment also play important roles. Let’s examine how these and other factors can impact the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
- Age: The vast majority of Alzheimer’s patients are 65 or older, with just 5-10% of cases involving people below that age range.
- Genetics: Alzheimer’s can be hereditary. Risk may be higher if you have a parent or sibling diagnosed with the disease.
- Heart Health: Research has shown a correlation between high blood pressure and high cholesterol with Alzheimer’s disease.
- Lifestyle Factors: Smoking cigarettes, consuming alcohol excessively, or leading a sedentary lifestyle can increase your risk of Alzheimer’s.
- Environmental Influences: Research shows that exposure to pollutants, noise, and pesticides can all increase Alzheimer’s risk.
Signs & Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease
It’s normal to have moments of forgetfulness, especially when we’re tired or under stress. However, in people with Alzheimer’s disease, there are persistent, long-term changes that go beyond occasional memory lapses.
Symptoms tend to start subtly and evolve over time, becoming more noticeable. As the disease progresses, these changes in memory and thinking patterns can place the person at a greater risk of harm. Depending on the person and stage, Alzheimer’s disease signs and symptoms may include:
- Mood changes like depression or agitation
- Behavioral changes like getting lost or misplacing items
- Cognitive changes like memory loss or difficulties solving problems
- Physical changes like mobility or vision loss
Early Stage Alzheimer’s Symptoms
What are common symptoms of early stage Alzheimer’s disease? While symptoms vary by person, the earliest detectable signs often include trouble remembering familiar names, out-of-character mood swings, or frequently losing personal belongings.
Let’s take a closer look at how some of these early signs of Alzheimer’s may show up:
- Memory Disruptions: The person may forget events that occurred recently, how to get to familiar locations, or how to play games they frequently enjoy.
- Word-Finding Difficulty: In the early stages of Alzheimer’s, people may forget common terms and lose parts of their vocabulary.
- Decision Challenges: People with early-stage Alzheimer’s have increased difficulty making decisions, like choosing what to wear.
- Mood Changes: These may include spontaneous bouts of crying, frustration, anger, sadness, fear, paranoia, or anxiety.
- Misplacing Items: The person may lose items more often than normal and lack the ability to retrace their steps or thought process.
Middle Stage Alzheimer’s Symptoms
During the middle stages of Alzheimer’s, a person starts to lose the ability to perform common daily activities, such as dressing themselves. It’s also common for people at this stage to experience major changes in behavior, like crying frequently, wandering outdoors, or having outbursts of aggression during dusk hours, which is referred to as “sundowning” or “sundown syndrome.”
Other signs of middle stage Alzheimer’s disease can include:
- Daily Task Dependence: People may lose the ability to brush their teeth, use the bathroom, feed themselves, or complete other daily tasks, requiring supervision or assistance from a caregiver.
- Behavioral Changes: Common examples of behavioral changes include crying, aggression, wandering, and resisting caregivers.
- Communication Difficulty: Alzheimer’s affects parts of the brain that control speech and language, making it harder to find or recognize words and follow conversations.
Disrupted Sleep Cycles: A person with Alzheimer’s may be sleeping more often and experiencing insomnia or nighttime waking due to cognitive and physical changes associated with dementia.
Late Stage Alzheimer’s Symptoms
During the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease, the person becomes completely dependent upon their caregiver. It’s common for people with late-stage Alzheimer’s to lose mobility and their ability to communicate. They can also develop serious health complications due to weakened immune responses and overlapping chronic conditions, such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
Here’s what you need to be aware of with late-stage Alzheimer’s disease:
- Limited Mobility: The person may be unable to leave their bed without assistance, which can lead to frailty and greater risk of falls.
- Communication Loss: People who are in the final stages of Alzheimer’s may be unable to speak coherently or only able to communicate in extremely limited ways.
- Personal Care Dependence: The person will most likely need help eating, washing, using the bathroom, and performing basic self-care.
- Health Complications: Complications like pressure sores, infections, and pneumonia are common in late-stage Alzheimer’s.
How to Prevent or Slow Alzheimer’s Disease
There’s no completely guaranteed method for preventing Alzheimer’s disease. However, you can lower risk by following a few simple tips, such as eating a healthy diet low in saturated fats. Here’s what the science says about how to slow down Alzheimer’s and reduce the risk of developing symptoms.
Nutrition & Exercise
You can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by leading a healthy lifestyle. Make regular exercise a part of your routine along with a balanced diet.
Many nutrition experts recommend following the MIND diet, which was developed by researchers based on the results of large-scale brain health studies. The MIND diet, which stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, emphasizes vitamin-rich, neuroprotective whole foods like vegetables, leafy greens, beans, and nuts. Data shows that people who follow the MIND diet are up to 53% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Mental & Social Activities
Social interaction, brain-stimulating activities, and effective stress management are all equally important for maintaining good cognitive health as we age. Here’s how staying mentally and socially active can combat Alzheimer’s disease.
- Cognitive Stimulation: Dementia activities like memory games and music therapy help delay mental decline, relieve anxiety, and provide a fun social outlet.
- Social Connection: Research shows that, combined with effective personalized care, just 60 minutes per week of social interaction positively impacts quality of life in dementia patients.
- Stress Management: Excessive stress is a known risk factor for Alzheimer’s, making it vital to incorporate self-care routines and practice healthy stress reduction techniques like journaling, meditation, yoga, or breathing exercises.
Screenings & Medical Guidance
Early detection is key to managing Alzheimer’s disease effectively. If you or your loved one notice any potential red flags, such as forgetting familiar names or words, it’s important to schedule an Alzheimer’s screening as soon as possible. The sooner a person is diagnosed, the sooner they can start treatments and therapies that can slow the progression of the disease.
It’s also important to have ongoing medical guidance and oversight while treating Alzheimer’s disease. Communicate frequently with your doctor, especially if symptoms change, and consider hiring a skilled in-home nurse for help with medication management.
Treatment Options for Alzheimer’s Disease
Lecanemab (marketed under the brand name Leqembi®) is the first medication fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Alzheimer's treatment. Lecanemab has been shown to slow the progression of the disease, decelerating signs of Alzheimer’s like declines in memory and thinking. While they don’t cure Alzheimer’s, medications like lecanemab can enhance a person’s quality of life and boost their independence by making daily functioning easier.
Here are other Alzheimer’s treatments and therapies currently available:
- Medications: Besides lecanemab, other medications for Alzheimer’s include cholinesterase inhibitors like benzgalantamine (Zunveyl®) and glutamate regulators like memantine (Namenda®).
- Therapeutic Approaches: Cognitive stimulation therapy (CST), talk therapy, reminiscence work, music therapy, and light therapy may help to lift mood and reduce the severity of some symptoms.
- Supportive Care: Emotional support from family, friends, and companion caregivers can help Alzheimer’s patients feel less isolated and more positive.
Care Options for Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s symptoms change and grow more noticeable as the disease progresses. As a result, people with Alzheimer’s require different levels of care at different stages of the disease. For example, in-home caregiving may be an option during the early or middle stages of Alzheimer’s, but individuals with more severe symptoms may need memory care or round-the-clock care at home.
Let’s review some of the different care options for people with Alzheimer’s to help you choose the best fit for you or your loved one, now and in the future.
In-Home Care
With in-home care, you or your loved one can get the personalized support they need from the comfort of their own home and familiar. Both medical and non-medical home care services are available, including companionship, skilled nursing, and respite care services, offering flexibility as health needs change.
An in-home caregiver can help your loved one safely navigate daily routines, including medication management. They can also assist with personal care, help with household tasks, provide transportation services, and monitor health changes.
Memory Care
Memory care is a specialized type of care for patients with moderate to severe dementia or Alzheimer’s that can be provided at home or in memory care facilities. This care is designed to provide secure environments for people who can no longer live independently due to memory loss, along with routine meal times, structured activities, and other daily therapies.
GUIDE Program
If you provide care for someone with Alzheimer’s disease, you may benefit from caregiver support programs that are designed to help families navigate the medical, emotional, and logistical challenges of caregiving.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) offers a free resource called the GUIDE Program, which stands for Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience. The GUIDE Program provides numerous resources, including a 24/7 helpline, telehealth services, and up to $2,500 in annual benefits for specific care services.
Frequently Asked Questions About Alzheimer’s Disease
What is the longest stage of Alzheimer’s disease?
The longest stage of Alzheimer’s disease is typically middle-stage Alzheimer’s, which lasts an average of two to four years.
What is a symptom of early stage Alzheimer’s disease that people often overlook?
The symptoms of early stage Alzheimer’s can be subtle and are sometimes mistaken for normal signs of aging. Early Alzheimer’s symptoms include difficulty performing familiar tasks, decreased ability to remember words, and confusion around dates, places, or times.
How is Alzheimer’s disease diagnosed during screening?
Healthcare providers use multiple methods to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. A doctor may conduct brain scans like an MRI, test cerebrospinal fluid for tau or amyloid proteins, order lab work to rule out other conditions, and/or ask you to perform problem-solving tests.
Can Alzheimer’s disease be slowed once symptoms begin?
Though there’s currently no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease, proactive treatment can help manage the symptoms and delay the disease’s progression. For example, medications like lecanemab and donanemab work to remove amyloid proteins, which can reduce symptoms and increase independence for some individuals.
What treatments and therapies are available beyond medication?
Many people with Alzheimer’s can slow the progression of the disease by combining medication with additional treatments and therapies. Some examples include light therapy, which helps regulate sleep patterns in dementia patients, and cognitive stimulation therapy (CST), which boosts memory and supports healthy brain function.
Navigating Alzheimer’s Disease with Support from BrightStar Care
Every person with Alzheimer’s has their own symptoms and unique care needs. These needs can change as the disease progresses from mild to severe. Understanding how Alzheimer’s works and getting an early diagnosis can help your family make informed decisions, empowering you to plan for future care with greater confidence.
BrightStar Care® can support dementia and Alzheimer’s care and help you explore care options that match your family’s needs, including respite care, in-home care, memory care, and skilled nursing.
Our experienced local care team members are ready to help you. Find a location near you, contact us online, or call (888) 311-3602 to learn more about how BrightStar Care offers A Higher Standard®.