Alzheimer’s disease（AD） is a continuous spectrum of the clinical manifestations that reflect the beta amyloid（Aβ） cascade in the brain

that is

from the asymptomatic pre-clinical stage to the symptomatic mild cognitive impairment（very early stage） and dementia（early

middle and late stage）

which are very similar to the characteristics of the wax and wane of the healthy qi and pathogenic qi manifestations of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）patterns. According to the results of clinical investigation and statistical analysis

it is concluded that the evolution of TCM patterns during AD progression is not a disordered single pattern such as "brain marrow reduction"

"phlegm excess"

"blood stasis"

"internal fire excess"and"stomach failure"

but a cascade of patterns with certain time sequence

i. e. "initiated from kidney deficiency

progressed with phlegm and blood stasis fire and deteriorated with toxic excess and deficiency extreme". It is the pattern cascade hypothesis that reflects the regular patterns of occurrence

development and deterioration of AD

which also provides a theoretical basis for the formulation of AD treatment strategies

and helps to carry out personalized early warning for the evolution of AD patterns.