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Dementia Stages Interactive Timeline

Compare how six cognitive and functional domains decline across 12 years of dementia progression. Switch between four dementia types to see how their trajectories differ.

Learning Objective

Analyze how dementia progresses through stages over time and how different domains decline at different rates (Bloom Level 4 - Analyze).

  • Bloom Level: Analyze (L4)
  • Bloom Verb: Analyze, examine, compare, differentiate
  • Library: Chart.js 4 (multi-line chart with custom stage-band plugin)

Preview

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How to Use

  1. Pick a dementia type from the selector at the top (Alzheimer's, Vascular, Lewy Body, or Frontotemporal).
  2. Hover over the chart to see the exact capability level for each domain at any year.
  3. Toggle capability lines on and off with the checkboxes under the chart to isolate specific domains.
  4. Answer the quiz at the bottom to check your understanding. A celebration plays when all four answers are correct.

Key Insights

  • Capabilities decline at different rates. Recent memory is usually the first and fastest to fade in Alzheimer's disease, while remote memory, physical abilities, and emotional capacity are preserved much longer.
  • Emotional capacity is retained longest. Even in late-stage dementia, people often still respond to love, comfort, music, and familiar touch.
  • Dementia types have distinct patterns.
  • Alzheimer's: smooth gradual decline.
  • Vascular: stepwise drops tied to small strokes, with plateaus in between.
  • Lewy Body: marked fluctuations with early movement symptoms.
  • Frontotemporal: early personality, behavior, and language loss with memory relatively intact.
  • Duration varies. The 0-12 year timeline is typical, but individual progression can be faster or slower.