Dementia means progressive degeneration of two or more mental functions of the brain related with cognition, thinking, memory, and judgment; all of this making it difficult to perform daily life activities (Schaber, & Lieberman, 2010). Symptoms progress slowly but severe enough that affects behavioral, mental, and psychological aspect of an individual resulting in a decline in quality of life of those presenting Alzheimer's disease (Schaber, & Lieberman, 2010).
Alzheimer's disease, also known as AD is mostly seen in people older than 65; however in occasions it is also seen in younger stages of life (Seyun, 2015). Symptoms could begin to show as early as in the 30s to 40s (Seyun, 2015). The average lifespan of someone with Alzheimer is from eight to twenty years from the initial diagnosis, depending of the stage of the disease, treatment implemented, and other health conditions (Seyun, 2015). Alzheimer's disease kills brain cells, affecting many connections among surviving cells which maintain a normal brain. Increasing age is the most common risk factor; however, the causes of AD are not fully clear (Hartman, Fisher, & Duran, 1999). The earliest symptom of AD disease is the deterioration of the ability to capture new information. Other warning signs include disorientation, constantly changes of mood; confusion about time and place; difficulty remembering familiar's name ,also speaking, swallowing and walking problems are presented as disease progression (Schaber, & Lieberman, 2010).
Alzheimer's disease is divided in three different stages: mild or early stage, moderato or middle stage, and severe or late stage (Hartman et al., 1999). The early stage is where the patient begins to show moderate cognitive decline. At this stage patients with Alzheimer can still be independent and carry alone with the ADLs (Seyun, 2015). In spite of that, patients could find that they have sporadic loss of memory, such as forgetting names of objects of daily using, or have trouble remembering personal information (Seyun, 2015).
