Full Answer Section

Alzheimer’s Disease

• Disease Trajectory:

  • Insidious Onset: Alzheimer’s typically has a slow and insidious onset, with subtle cognitive changes often overlooked initially.  
  • Gradual Decline: Cognitive decline progresses gradually, affecting memory, learning, language, and eventually, daily living skills.  
  • Progressive Deterioration: As the disease progresses, individuals may experience significant memory loss, confusion, behavioral changes, and difficulty with basic activities of daily living (ADLs).  
  • Terminal Illness: Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with no current cure.  

• Scale/Measure:

  • Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE): A brief cognitive screening tool that assesses orientation, attention, memory, language, and visuospatial skills. It can help track cognitive decline over time.  
  • Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog): A more comprehensive assessment tool that evaluates cognitive function in more detail, including memory, language, attention, and praxis