Alzheimer’s disease

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Aged nervous tissue

OTHER PRACTICAL STEPS

The person with AD should have their eyes and ears checked. If problems are found, hearing aids, glasses, or cataract surgery may be needed.

Those with AD may have particular dietary requirements such as:

• Extra calories due to increased physical activity from restlessness and wandering.
• Supervised meals and help with feeding. People with AD often forget to eat and drink, and can become dehydrated as a result.

The Safe Return Program, implemented by the Alzheimer's Association, requires that a person with AD wear in identification bracelet. If he or she wanders, the caregiver can contact the police and the national Safe Return office, where information about the person is stored and shared nationwide.

Eventually, 24-hour monitoring and assistance may be necessary to provide a safe environment, control aggressive or agitated behavior, and meet physiologic needs. This may include in-home care, nursing homes, or adult day care.

For additional information and resources for people with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers, see Alzheimer's disease support groups.

The probable outcome is poor. The disorder is usually progresses steadily. Total disability is common. Death normally occurs within 15 years, usually from an infection or a failure of other body systems.

• Loss of ability to function or care for self
• Bedsores, muscle contractures (loss of ability to move joints because of loss of muscle function), infection (particularly urinary tract infections and pneumonia), and other complications related to immobility during end-stages of AD
• Falls and broken bones
• Loss of ability to interact
• Malnutrition and dehydration
• Failure of body systems
• Reduced life span
• Harmful or violent behavior toward self or others
• Abuse by an over-stressed caregiver
• Side effects of medications

Call your health care provider if someone close to you experiences symptoms of senile dementia/Alzheimer's type.

Call your health care provider if a person with this disorder experiences a sudden change in mental status. (A rapid change may indicate other illness.)

Discuss the situation with your health care provider if you are caring for a person with this disorder and the condition deteriorates to the point where you can no longer care for the person in your home.

Review Date: 05/16/2006
Reviewed By: Daniel Kantor, M.D., Director of the Comprehensive MS Center, Neuroscience Institute, University of Florida Health Science Center, Jacksonville, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.