When loss of balance is characteristic of late-stage dementia, patients will sometimes adjust by changing their gait, or how they walk.
Very often this adjustment involves shuffling, instead of lifting each foot to make a step, making falls more likely.
Research published in the Journal of The American Geriatrics Society in 2016, even suggested that signs of dizziness and loss of balance earlier on in life could mean someone is more likely to get Alzheimer’s as they get older.
This chimes with earlier findings published in the journal Neurology, which suggest being prone to falls could cause a build-up of amyloid in the brain and tau in the spinal fluid.