Oh My God. I have Stage4 Alzheimer's : (
Find us anywhere in the U.S.
Search By State
Visit our action site
Become an advocate
go
Enroll in
MedicAlert +
Safe Return
go
Ask a librarian Ask a librarian
GO
* Stage 1: No impairment
* Stage 2: Very mild decline
* Stage 3: Mild decline
* Stage 4: Moderate decline (mild or early stage)
* Stage 5: Moderately severe decline (moderate or mid-stage)
* Stage 6: Severe decline (moderately severe or mid-stage)
* Stage 7: Very severe decline (severe or late stage)
Inside the Brain: An Interactive Tour
Learn how stages of Alzheimer's relate
to physical changes within the brain.
Experts have documented common patterns of symptom progression that occur in many individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and developed several methods of “staging” based on these patterns.
Staging systems provide useful frames of reference for understanding how the disease may unfold and for making future plans. But it is important to note that not everyone will experience the same symptoms or progress at the same rate. People with Alzheimer’s die an average of four to six years after diagnosis, but the duration of the disease can vary from three to 20 years.
The framework for this section is a system that outlines key symptoms characterizing seven stages ranging from unimpaired function to very severe cognitive decline. This framework is based on a system developed by Barry Reisberg, M.D., Clinical Director of the New York University School of Medicine’s Silberstein Aging and Dementia Research Center.
Within this framework, we have noted which stages correspond to the widely used concepts of mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe Alzheimer’s disease. We have also noted which stages fall within the more general divisions of early-stage, mid-stage and late-stage categories.
Stage 1:
No impairment (normal function)
Unimpaired individuals experience no memory problems and none are evident to a health care professional during a medical interview.
Back to top
Stage 2:
Very mild cognitive decline (may be normal age-related changes or earliest signs of Alzheimer's disease)
Individuals may feel as if they have memory loss and lapses, especially in forgetting familiar words or names or the location of keys, eyeglasses or other everyday objects. But these problems are not evident during a medical examination or apparent to friends, family or co-workers.
Back to top
Stage 3:
Mild cognitive decline
Early-stage Alzheimer's can be diagnosed in some, but not all, individuals with these symptoms
Friends, family or co-workers begin to notice deficiencies. Problems with memory or concentration may be measurable in clinical testing or discernible during a detailed medical interview. Common difficulties include:
*
Word- or name-finding problems noticeable to family or close associates
*
Decreased ability to remember names when introduced to new people
*
Performance issues in social or work settings noticeable to family, friends or co-workers
*
Reading a passage and retaining little material
*
Losing or misplacing a valuable object
*
Decline in ability to plan or organize
Back to top
Stage 4:
Moderate cognitive decline
(Mild or early-stage Alzheimer's disease)
At this stage, a careful medical interview detects clear-cut deficiencies in the following areas:
*
Decreased knowledge of recent occasions or current events
*
Impaired ability to perform challenging mental arithmetic-for example, to count backward from 75 by 7s
*
Decreased capacity to perform complex tasks, such as planning dinner for guests, paying bills and managing finances
*
Reduced memory of personal history
*
The affected individual may seem subdued and withdrawn, especially in socially or mentally challenging situations
Search By State
Visit our action site
Become an advocate
go
Enroll in
MedicAlert +
Safe Return
go
Ask a librarian Ask a librarian
GO
* Stage 1: No impairment
* Stage 2: Very mild decline
* Stage 3: Mild decline
* Stage 4: Moderate decline (mild or early stage)
* Stage 5: Moderately severe decline (moderate or mid-stage)
* Stage 6: Severe decline (moderately severe or mid-stage)
* Stage 7: Very severe decline (severe or late stage)
Inside the Brain: An Interactive Tour
Learn how stages of Alzheimer's relate
to physical changes within the brain.
Experts have documented common patterns of symptom progression that occur in many individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and developed several methods of “staging” based on these patterns.
Staging systems provide useful frames of reference for understanding how the disease may unfold and for making future plans. But it is important to note that not everyone will experience the same symptoms or progress at the same rate. People with Alzheimer’s die an average of four to six years after diagnosis, but the duration of the disease can vary from three to 20 years.
The framework for this section is a system that outlines key symptoms characterizing seven stages ranging from unimpaired function to very severe cognitive decline. This framework is based on a system developed by Barry Reisberg, M.D., Clinical Director of the New York University School of Medicine’s Silberstein Aging and Dementia Research Center.
Within this framework, we have noted which stages correspond to the widely used concepts of mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe Alzheimer’s disease. We have also noted which stages fall within the more general divisions of early-stage, mid-stage and late-stage categories.
Stage 1:
No impairment (normal function)
Unimpaired individuals experience no memory problems and none are evident to a health care professional during a medical interview.
Back to top
Stage 2:
Very mild cognitive decline (may be normal age-related changes or earliest signs of Alzheimer's disease)
Individuals may feel as if they have memory loss and lapses, especially in forgetting familiar words or names or the location of keys, eyeglasses or other everyday objects. But these problems are not evident during a medical examination or apparent to friends, family or co-workers.
Back to top
Stage 3:
Mild cognitive decline
Early-stage Alzheimer's can be diagnosed in some, but not all, individuals with these symptoms
Friends, family or co-workers begin to notice deficiencies. Problems with memory or concentration may be measurable in clinical testing or discernible during a detailed medical interview. Common difficulties include:
*
Word- or name-finding problems noticeable to family or close associates
*
Decreased ability to remember names when introduced to new people
*
Performance issues in social or work settings noticeable to family, friends or co-workers
*
Reading a passage and retaining little material
*
Losing or misplacing a valuable object
*
Decline in ability to plan or organize
Back to top
Stage 4:
Moderate cognitive decline
(Mild or early-stage Alzheimer's disease)
At this stage, a careful medical interview detects clear-cut deficiencies in the following areas:
*
Decreased knowledge of recent occasions or current events
*
Impaired ability to perform challenging mental arithmetic-for example, to count backward from 75 by 7s
*
Decreased capacity to perform complex tasks, such as planning dinner for guests, paying bills and managing finances
*
Reduced memory of personal history
*
The affected individual may seem subdued and withdrawn, especially in socially or mentally challenging situations