Did You Know?

Did you know...that dementia IS NOT the name of a specific disease, but is a word used to describe the mental condition of a person whose memory is impaired and whose problems with processing information are severe enough to interfere with his or her ability to function normally?

Did you know...that there are two types, two forms and two categories of Alzheimer's? They are...

2 Types: Early and Late Onset

2 Forms: Left Temporal Lobe and Right Temporal Lobe

2 Categories: Sporadic and Hereditary

Did you know...that by stage 5, the brain is already 50% destroyed by Alzheimer's?

Did you know...that the Hippocampus is one of the earliest areas of the brain to be affected by Alzheimer's?

And did you know...the day the Hippocampus is destroyed by Alzheimer's, the person will lose the ability to recall the last 3 years of their life? Why? Because the Hippocampus is essential to memory storage.

Did you know...that by stage 6, their ability to remember what has been told to them, is now down to 5 minutes?

Did you know...that they will slowly lose their peripheral vision? And that is why it is so important that you approach your loved one from the front. It is the only way they will see you coming.

Did you know...a person with Alzheimer's may revert back to a native tongue if their primary language was not English?

Did you know...about 14% of all Alzheimer's victims develop somthing called Akathesia (termed restless pacing)? Which is the inability to control pacing? These victims are easily identified because they are constantly moving, staying in one place no longer than a few seconds.

Did you know...by stage 7, their abilities are reduced to that of a few week old child?

Did you know...that your loved one may suffer bowel and bladder accidents because they cannot remember what the sensations mean?

Did you know...that people born with Down Syndrome, will eventually develop dementia?

Did you know...that many people with Alzheimer's develop Visual Agnosia, which is the inability to comprehend what they see?

Did you know...that after it destroys the Hippocampus in the brain, it them moves on into the Parietal lobe? Once there, the person may hallucinate, suffer seizures, and lose the ability to speak, to read, and to recognize places, objects, and faces, even of family members. [ middle stages of Alzheimer's ]

And did you know...that final area of the brain to be affected by Alzheimer's, is the Motor Cortex? By then the person can no longer walk, talk or swallow. Pneumonia may set in when bits of food are inhaled. [ late stages of Alzheimer's ]

And finally, did you know...as the devastation moves through the brain, it follows a course that corresponds to the person's symptoms? The first nerves to die are in the hippocampus, where memories are stored. The destruction then moves to the parietal lobe and finally the cortex [the outer layer of the brain] which controls your ability to speak, and walk.

Marsha Penington Copyright 1998

Back to Alzheimer's Directory

Home