It takes away patients' ability to communicate, to eat and drink on their own, to understand where they are and even to recognize their family members.
Dementia is the patients' "long goodbye" to their memories.
Since the 19th century, the various studies carried out have included stories from family members, doctors and healthcare providers revealing that some people with the disease suddenly become lucid.
Reports from those who deal with patients with this condition describe that the person unexpectedly starts a meaningful conversation, shares memories that were thought to have been lost, makes jokes and even orders meals.
According to Science Alert, it is estimated that 43% of people who experience this brief lucidity die within 24 hours and 84% within a week.
In 2009, biologist Michael Nahm and psychiatrist Bruce Greyson, specialists in near-death experiences, coined the term "terminal lucidity", since these episodes of lucidity often occur shortly before death.
Not all episodes of lucidity indicate that death is imminent.
In a study conducted by Mayo Clinic researchers and published in February in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia, episodes of lucidity in people living with dementia and advanced Alzheimer's were analyzed.
The Conversation
The authors of the study developed a typology of these events to help characterize them.
The results challenge the clinical assumption of a linear cognitive and behavioral decline for people with disabilities, suggesting that this decline can, at least temporarily, change.
Paradoxical lucidity and terminal lucidity are also very difficult to study. Not all people with advanced dementia will have episodes of lucidity before death.
Episodes of lucidity are unpredictable and usually occur without a specific stimulus. At the time of death, it is difficult for scientists to interview caregivers about any moments of lucidity that may have occurred.
Another study, conducted by researchers at New York University and published in 2023 in Science Direct, suggests that changes in brain activity before death can cause terminal lucidity.
But these results don't fully explain why people suddenly regain abilities that were supposed to have been lost.
The explanations for terminal lucidity go beyond science. These moments of mental lucidity may be a way for the dying person to say goodbye, to get closure before death and to reconnect with family and friends.
Some believe that episodes of terminal lucidity are representative of the person's connection with life after death.
It is important to know what terminal lucidity is and to be aware that it can help loved ones to understand that it is part of the dying process, to recognize that the person with dementia will not recover and to make the most of the time they have with the lucid person.
