Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and is the most common cause of dementia. It results in loss of memory and cognitive functions, a progressive inability to perform activities of daily living, and changes in personality and behavior. Alzheimer’s is diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual (DSM-IV) as developing multiple cognitive deficits manifested by memory impairment and one of the following: (1) Aphasia^? (2) Apraxia^? (3) Agnosia^? (4) Disturbances in executive functioning (Grossberg).

Alzheimer’s can only be diagnosed definitively post-mortem but can be diagnosed with 85-90% accuracy by using cognitive tasks such as the MMSE and ADL and input from relatives. Other symptoms of Alzheimer’s include getting lost, an accidental fall, messy home, decline in calculating abilities, psychosis, depression and behavioral disturbances.

References: Grossberg (2005). “Diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease” Neurology 64: S34 - S39.