The Stages of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimers stages

At the New York University Medical Center's Aging and Dementia Research Center, Barry Reisberg, M.D., and colleagues have developed the Functional Assessment Staging (FAST) scale, which allows professionals and caregivers to chart the decline of people with Alzheimer's disease.

FAST Scale Stage	Characteristics
1. Normal adult	No functional decline.
2. Normal older adult	Personal awareness of some functional decline.
3. Early Alzheimer's disease	Noticeable deficits in demanding job situations.
4. Mild Alzheimer's	Requires assistance in complicated tasks such as handling finances and planning parties.
5. Moderate Alzheimer's	Requires assistance in choosing proper attire.
6. Moderately severe Alzheimer's	Requires assistance in dressing, bathing, and toileting. Has urinary and fecal incontinence.
7. Severe Alzheimer's	Speech ability declines to about a half-dozen intelligible words. Progressive loss of abilities to walk, sit up, smile, and hold head up.

Dr. Reisberg has also shown that the decline typical of Alzheimer's disease is the flip side of normal skill acquisition by infants, children, and young adults:

Ability	Age of acquisition during normal development	Alzheimer's stage at which ability is lost
Select proper clothing.	5-7 years	5. Moderate Alzheimer's
Handle simple finances.	8-12 years	4. Mild Alzheimer's
Hold a job. Function independently in the world.	12 years and older	3. Early Alzheimer's disease

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