prognosis
Last edited 05/2022 and last reviewed 05/2022
Alzheimer's disease is progressively debilitating, lasting for between one-and-a-half to fifteen years; median duration is 7-10 years. Death is most commonly due to bronchopneumonia (1).
It is important to recognise the impact that Alzheimer's disease can have on the family of a patient (2). The terminal stages of home care have been described as the carer suffering a living bereavement. The person they love is all but lost, whilst what remains serves as a constant reminder of this loss and source of grief.
These and other factors ought to be borne in mind by the physician who decrees that the patient can be adequately cared for at home.
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