The growing dominance of Alzheimer’s disease in accounting for the abnormal cognitive development among the majority of aged person intrigues psychologists to research on the stages and scientific mechanism involved throughout the gradual manifestation of the condition. Alzheimer’s disease is a disorder that gradually degenerates the growth of brain cells and ostensibly resulting in degradation of one’s cognitive abilities. The available literature denotes that Alzheimer’s disorder accounts for 65%-80% of dementia cases. Thought this condition manifests mostly in adults, its development follows gradual stages that could have developed from an early age. Several credible authors have researched and published on the continuous development of Alzheimer’s disease as it evolves into full-fledged dementia. This research presentation major on the contribution of these authors in establishing the stages of development of Alzheimer’s diseases from its mildest form to its severe stage. Moreover, this research presentation will analyze the literary works and relate the development stages of Alzheimer’s disease with the progressive occurrence of dementia among patients.
Vermunt et al. (2019) performed a research study to establish the developmental stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The study concluded that the condition progressively develops through seven major stages. According to the authors, the first stage of the disease is the normal outward behavior. During this stage, an individual does not exhibit any symptoms that might suggest that he or she has abnormal brain degeneration. In a similar study, Hondius et al. (2016) add that the only evidence or indicator of this first stage is subjecting a patient through a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan that shows the working of the brain. According to the authors, PET scan can reveal abnormal degeneration of brain cells. The abnormal development of brain cells leads to slowed cognitive performance and therefore inducing dementia condition. According to the two authors, this early stage of Alzheimer’s is usually unnoticed among patients as they pose to be healthy.
Moreover, Hondius et al. (2016), add that the second stage in the development of Alzheimer’s disease is the “very mild changes” stage. At this second stage, the patient exhibits minor symptoms that might be overlooked if not keenly scrutinized. Hondius et al. (2016), add that the symptoms exhibited by a patient at this stage might be overlooked in a doctor’s cross-examination. One of the symptoms is the misspelling of words, which were perversely apparent to an individual. According to the two authors, a keen psychologist might notice that a patient forgets to punctuate a sentence or a phrase in his or her writing. This stage induces the simultaneous development of dementia on the patient. Similarly, Vermunt et al. (2019) argue that symptoms manifesting at this stage seem reasonable to any psychologist. Still, a continuous manifestation of similar signs might intrigue the interest of a keen psychologist.
In a similar study conducted by Vannini et al. (2017), the third stage in the development of Alzheimer’s condition is the “mild decline stage.” According to the author, a patient begins to manifest noticeable cognitive changes. The ability to remember, think, and reason pragmatically begin to exhibit various abnormalities. A patient begins to forget the information which he or she has previously read. Similar to the findings of Vermunt et al. (2019), a patient at this stage begins to ask same questions repeatedly or even, a patient might not remember the name of a colleague they met in a previous meeting. The third stage of Alzheimer’s induces noticeable dementia on the patient. According to these authors, a patient begins to exhibit difficulties in planning or organizing simple events. The rate of brain cell degeneration is moderately high at this stage, ostensibly resulting in noticeable cognitive impairment.
Xu et al. (2019) performed a study to analyze the relationship between the gradual development of dementia and Alzheimer’s conditions. The study concluded that the fourth stage of Alzheimer’s disease known as “moderate decline,” induces full-fledged dementia on patients. According to the study, patients at this stage deteriorate in their cognitive ability to remember. Patients begin to forget details about themselves selves such as date of birth. A patient could even forget a commonly known password. The authors argue that a patient is out of control of the primary cognitive domains at this stage. Patients forget manifest difficulties in entering the correct dates and amounts while signing checks or even forget to season food while cooking. At this stage, the gradual development of dementia is fully developed, and forgetting becomes normal to a patient.
Xie et al. (2019) performed a similar study to relate the gradual stages of Alzheimer’s disease development on a patient with the occurrence of dementia condition. The study researchers concluded that the firth stage, known as “moderately severe decline stage,” is manifested by exaggerated dementia. According to this study, the rate of brain cell death if fully-fledged at this stage. The patient begins to exhibit signs of dementia, which are hard to believe. For instance, a patient might forget the name of the place that he or she at the moment. Also, the patient might exhibit difficulties in remembering their address or phone number. Xu et al. (2019) similarly argue that the patient’s cognitive domain is incapacitated at this stage. The authors add that a patient could get stuck on the mirror for a long time undecided on which clothing to wear for an event.
In a study to establish the stages of Alzheimer’s disease, Xu et al. (2019) find out that the sixth stage of development, known as “severe decline” is manifested total loss of cognitive control. According to the authors, the rate of brain cell loss reaches the optimum level at this stage. The patient might remember the faces of his or her close friends but cannot recall the names. The author argues that a patient begins to confuse the visuals of previously stored information. For instance, a patient might confuse his wife with his mother. Similar to the finding of Hondius et al. (2016), the severe decline stage is characterised by symptoms of delusions on the patient. For instance, the patient might think that he or she needs to rush to work before it’s late, even though he or she does not have any job. At this stage, the patient loses the sense of self and might also be forced to shower.
Xu et al. (2019) find out that the last stage of Alzheimer’s, known as “very severe decline,” is manifested by a total disconnect between the cognitive domain and the nervous coordination of a patient. At this stage, the necessary human abilities such as walking, eating, or even sitting, are impaired. The patient’s cognitive domain at this stage forgets to coordinate the normal nervous behavior. According to the research, the patient cannot feed himself or herself. He or she would require assistance or how to use a spoon. Communication is impaired at this stage as the patient cannot remember or construct a logical statement. The patients cannot even say that they feel thirsty. Patients at this stage require intense care as could be easily vulnerable to passive and apparent dangers. The study recommends that patients are assigned personal assistants at this stage.
References
Hondius, D. C., van Nierop, P., Li, K. W., Hoozemans, J. J., van der Schors, R. C., van Haastert, E. S., … & Smit, A. B. (2016). Profiling the human hippocampal proteome at all pathologic stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s & dementia, 12(6), 654-668.
Vannini, P., Amariglio, R., Hanseeuw, B., Johnson, K. A., McLaren, D. G., Chhatwal, J., … & Sperling, R. A. (2017). Memory self-awareness in the preclinical and prodromal stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Neuropsychologia, 99, 343-349.
Vermunt, L., Sikkes, S. A., Van Den Hout, A., Handels, R., Bos, I., Van Der Flier, W. M., … & Verhey, F. R. (2019). Duration of preclinical, prodromal, and dementia stages of Alzheimer’s disease in relation to age, sex, and APOE genotype. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 15(7), 888-898.
Xie, L., Wisse, L. E., Pluta, J., de Flores, R., Piskin, V., Manjón, J. V., & Yushkevich, P. A. (2019). Automated segmentation of medial temporal lobe subregions on in vivo T1‐weighted MRI in early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Human brain mapping, 40(12), 3431-3451.
Xu, J., Sun, J., Perrin, R. J., Mach, R. H., Bales, K. R., Morris, J. C., … & Holtzman, D. M. (2019). Translocator protein in late stage Alzheimer’s disease and dementia with lewy bodies brains. Annals of clinical and translational neurology, 6(8), 1423-1434.