Family Fun Simply Gifted Expectant Fathers More Topics . . . Alzheimer's disease is a brain disorder that slowly degenerates brain functions. Usually within 3 to 18 years, this disorder will destroy the patient's abilities to reason and remember. Because the patient forgets, there is also a breakdown in behavior patterns.
Many patients feel anxiety and others can get violent.
At the end of this tragic disease, the patient returns back almost to the infancy stage. They forget who they are, who their family is and even to take care of themselves. Many Alzheimer's patients get depressed at the beginning of their disease as they start to see what is happening to them. One minute she's telling my kids how much she loves them, and the next she's yelling and in tears. It's hard for them to understand.