How does ahlzimers diease finally kill someone? What are the end stages of the disease? Is it true that aspirin use for a number of years could ward off or reduce the ravages of ahlzimers diease?
If the sufferer doesn’t die from some other disease of old age eventually the loss of brain function will result in death. Some recent research indicates that regular intake of aspirin may reduce Alzheimer’s incidence by up to 45% but who knows if this will stand up in future.
Alzheimer’s disease is usually fatal within seven years of diagnosis, and probably less.
There is no one cause of death in Alzheimers Disease. Some of the late, and potentially fatal, complications of Alzheimers include pneumonia and other infections, malnutrition, and what’s called aspiration pneumonia (which is not so much an infection as it is a chemical-induced inflammation and/or blockage in the lungs that arises as a result of inhaling stomach contents.)
Generally, people with Alzheimers “forget” how to eat and swallow. Their food and fluid intake declines and they grow weak and malnourished. This is a set up for poor immune function and thus infections. Often, people with Alzheimers disease don’t move about very much. This immobility leads to under-expansion of the lungs and subsequent pneumonia. Sores on the skin also result, and they can get infected. Urinary continence is inevitably lost. This promotes bladder and kidney infections.
Falls are also common in Alzheimers and they can lead to fractures and further immobility.
Of course, people with Alzheimers, being generally older, are also at high risk of the usual killers like strokes and heart attacks too.
The recent results purporting to show a protective effect of aspirin and related drugs are still very preliminary. And, note that the number of deaths due to ASA and allied drugs is about the same as those due to AIDS. So, they can’t be recommended without very solid supportive evidence.