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Doctors say it is possible that an Alzheimer's patient could progress to the point that damage from the disease to the centers of the brain that control breathing could cause death, but patients rarely get that far without an infection setting in.
These things lead to an increased risk of pneumonia, which is the most common cause of death in people who have Alzheimer's disease. I imagine urosepsis is another cause of death. There is a blurred distinction between death caused by dementia and death resulting from dementia. Here are some interesting sources: Burns A, Jacoby R, Luthert P, Levy R. Cause of death in Alzheimerâs disease. Age and Ageing 1990;19(5):341â4.