Types and Stages of Alzheimer’s
Three stages of Alzheimer’s have been categorized by the specialists:
• Early onset Alzheimer's. This Alzheimer’s stage occurs in people younger than 65. Of all the Alzheimer’s patients, only 10% develop this type. The group at particular risk is people with Down syndrome, as they age faster. The patients are likely to develop early Alzheimer’s when they are in their late 40s and early 50s.
When younger people get Alzheimer’s, they develop more abnormalities in the brain tissue than regular patients. This type of the disease may actually be associated with chromosome 14, to which late-onset Alzheimer's is not connected in any way. Myoclonus is a condition that involves spasms and twitching of muscles, typical for this stage of the disease.
• Late-onset Alzheimer's. This Alzheimer’s stage is the most common (occurs in 90% of cases), and affects people older than 65. This kind is not hereditary and the probability of getting it increases with age – after 85 it’s about 50%. Sporadic Alzheimer's disease is also another term for late-onset dementia.
• FAD (Familial Alzheimer's disease). FAD can only be inherited. You run the risk of developing AD if two or more generations in your family history experienced this condition. Of all the stages of Alzheimer’s, this type is the rarest – it happens in 1% of all cases. Usually it’s easy to diagnose it by checking out the medical history of the family.Besides age, these stages of Alzheimer’s have the following differences:
• Young people who develop Alzheimer's disease have more of the microscopic changes found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. Neurofibrills (nerve cell fibers in your brain) are altered, while beta amyloid (a kind of protein) contributes to the formation of plaques. These processes cause the brain tissue to decrease in size. However, the case may be that the brain of a younger individual needs to be more damaged before any symptoms start to show, so the true difference in the nature of the disease may not be reflected.
• Early onset Alzheimer's is associated with chromosome 14, to which late-onset Alzheimer's is not connected. Myoclonus (a condition that involves spasms and twitching of muscles) is typical for this stage of the disease.
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