fret Logic

Seven Stages of Dementia: for Dummies [like me], by Pat Darnell

Stages Dementia can be divided into seven stages which are similar to those in Alzheimer’s disease. The seven stages of dementia are as follows: I. No impairment of normal function: No sign of memory loss are visible to a medical professional nor does the patient experience any symptoms. II. Very mild cognitive decline: People may experience some loss of memory such forgetting familiar words, names, or location of wristwatch, eyeglasses or any such objects of daily use. Family, friends or colleagues may observe these signs. III. Mild cognitive decline: Early stage dementia can be diagnosed only in some individuals with the following symptoms:
The patient has trouble remembering words or names. The patient loses the ability to remember names of individuals newly introduced to him or her. Difference in performance can be easily noticeable in work environment, social environment by family, friends or colleagues. Less retention from articles or stories read in a magazine or book. The patient misplaces or loses valuable objects. Decreased ability to plan or organize. IV. Moderate cognitive decline: It is a mild or early stage dementia with the following clear cut deficiencies being observed: The patient fails recollect recent incidents or current events. The patient cannot perform some challenging mental arithmetic such as counting backwards from say 100 by 7s. The patient is not able to plan or organize complex tasks such as arranging a party, planning a picnic etc., The patient would remain socially withdrawn and silent in challenging situations. V. Moderately severe cognitive decline: It is a moderate or mid-stage AD with major gaps in memory and deficits in cognitive function. Assistance with daily activities may be required and following deficiencies are observed: The patient fails to recall current address, telephone number and name of the college or school from which they graduated. The patient is in a confused state of mind with regards to their current location, date, day of the week, season etc., The patient fails to perform even lesser challenging mental arithmetic such as counting backwards from 40 by 4s. The patient requires help in choosing the appropriate clothing for a particular season or occasion. Generally, the patient retains substantial knowledge and can tell his/her own name, names of their spouse or children. The patients do not require any assistance for eating or using toilet. VI. Severe cognitive decline: It is the next to the last stage and is also called moderately severe or mid-stage of dementia with memory difficulties continuing to worsen, personality changes emerging substantially and the patients requiring a considerable amount of help for carrying out their day-to-day activities. The following symptoms are observed in the patients: The patient loses track of some of the most recent experiences, events and even their surroundings. The patient cannot recall personal history exactly, though she/he can recall her/his name perfectly. The patient can distinguish familiar faces from unfamiliar faces. The patient requires help to dress appropriately, since they tend to create errors such as wearing shoes on the wrong feet etc., The patient experiences a disturbance in normal sleep/waking cycle. The patient would require the help for handling details of toileting such as flushing toilet, wiping and proper disposal of tissue paper. There are increasing episodes of urinary or fecal incontinence. Changes in behavior including suspicion and delusions such as suspecting the care giver as an impostor, hallucinations, repetitive behavior such as hand wringing etc., The patient tends to wander and become lost. VII. Very severe cognitive decline: It is the ultimate stage and is called Severe or late-stage with the patient losing the ability to respond to the environment, unable to communicate orally and unable to control movements. Very often patients in this stage lose the ability to communicate in a recognizable speech though they utter phrases occasionally. Patients need assistance in eating and toileting with “general incontinence of urine” (9). Patients gradually lose the ability to walk without support, to sit, to smile and hold their head up. Muscles become rigid and reflexes abnormal with swallowing becoming impaired (9).