• Symptoms

Symptoms

Symptoms in different stages

Dementia is a disease that causes brain function degeneration due to pathological changes of nerve cells in the brain. The disease will affect patients’ memory, comprehension, language, learning, calculation and judgment, cause changes in emotions, behaviour and feelings. Common symptoms of dementia are as follows:
Early stage - 1st to 2nd year,Middle stage 2nd to 5th year,Late stage after 5th year

[Early stage]

At this stage, family and friends of dementia
patients tend to overlook the changes and consider them as part of the normal process of ageing
1st – 2nd year
  • Loss of short-term memory
  • Difficulty in expressing or understanding abstract concepts, such as physical discomfort as well as thoughts and feelings
  • Constant emotional and behavioural changes
  • Difficulty in learning something new and following complex instructions
  • Compromised judgment
  • Able to perform basic self-care with the help and reminders of others

[Middle stage]

As dementia progresses, patients will show more obvious difficulties compared with that of early stage
2nd – 5th year
  • Confusion about long-term memory and reality
  • Occasional inability to express oneself
  • Change in behaviour and personalities or being prone to emotional instability
  • Requiring assistance in everyday self-care

[Late stage]

Complete reliance on others without any ability to self-care
After 5th year
  • Memory loss; inability to recognise familiar people and places
  • Decline in physical activities and mental conditions
  • Inability to perform effective communication
  • Inability to take care of everyday life
  • Requiring long-term care and supervision
  • Disrupted biological clock
Source:
香港老人科醫學會 - 認識認知障礙症

*Prince, M.(2009). World Alzheimer report 2009. London: Alzheimer’s Disease International
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Last Update: 2/10/2024