“How do people actually die from Alzheimer?”

Question

“How do people actually die from Alzheimer?”

In: Biology

Answer 1

I’ve been a hospice physician for over 20 years and have worked with many many people with Alzheimer’s. Most of them die from impaired swallowing which leads to aspiration pneumonia – this is when food ends up in the lungs which causes pneumonia. They literally forget how to swallow or lose the swallow reflex. This leads to one of two outcomes, the aforementioned aspiration pneumonia or a refusal to eat and drink. Studies show that inserting a feeding tube doesn’t solve this problem as at this point these patients are bedbound.