Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. As many as 70% of all people diagnosed with dementia have Alzheimer's.

People with this disease experience memory problems from the earliest stages. As the disease progresses a person will have increasing difficulty with daily tasks until, in late stages, they are completely dependent on the help of others.

Causes

In Alzheimer's disease, certain proteins accumulate in the brain cells: amyloid proteins and tau proteins. These proteins naturally occur in the brain but are broken down in healthy individuals. The accumulation of these proteins causes damage to the brain cells or leads to their death. The communication between the remaining brain cells is also disrupted.

Symptoms

Alzheimer's frist affects your memory. It becomes increasingly difficult to remember new information. It also becomes increasingly difficult to know what time, day or month it is.

As dementia progresses, the person experiences more symptoms:

• Attention and concentration problems and reduced processing speed.
• Difficulty performing daily activities or doing them in the right order. For example, keeping housekeeping up to date, preparing meals and taking medicines on time and correctly.
• Using and understanding language becomes more difficult.
• Problems with logical thinking, planning and organising.
• Problems recognising objects and understanding what they are for.

Difference between dementia and Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's and dementia are often mixed up, but they are not the same thing. If you have Alzheimer's, you have a form of dementia. But if you have dementia, it is not always Alzheimer's. Other forms of dementia include vascular dementia, lewy body dementia and frontotemporal dementia.

Progression

The average life expectancy after Alzheimer's diagnosis is 6.5 years. Although it affects some people at a young age, most diagnoses take place from the age of 65.

The course of the disease can be divided into stages. Some people deteriorate rapidly. Others still have a reasonably independent life for a long time. This varies from person to person.

Here we give a rough overview of the characteristics of the early, middle and late stages:

• Early phase
  Alzheimer's and other types of dementia do not develop suddenly. Alzheimer's disease starts gradually and the deterioration increases steadily. A person who develops Alzheimer's first experiences problems with memory.
• Middle stage
  The changes become more obvious. The person with dementia experiences difficulty with everyday things, requiring support from others.
• Last stage of life
  In all forms of dementia, people are completely dependent on others in the final phase.  Memory loss is severe. Familiar people are no longer recognised. Places and objects are also no longer recognised. Palliative care is very important at this stage. It focuses on the comfort and quality of life of the person with dementia.