Dementia vs. Alzheimer’s Disease: What is the Difference?
Dementia is a broad term that encompasses many different diseases. Alzheimer's disease, for example, is the most common form of dementia among older adults.
Today, we hope to help you understand the difference between dementia and Alzheimer's so that you can identify it in your loved ones or yourself if necessary.
What is Alzheimer's Disease?
Alzheimer's disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder that causes problems with memory, thinking, and behavior. Although it cannot be cured, treatments are available to help manage the symptoms of Alzheimer's.
Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease
Typically, early signs of dementia include forgetfulness or having trouble remembering things you just learned. As this condition progresses into middle-stage Alzheimer's symptomatology includes:
Problems with communication skills such as difficulty speaking or writing coherently.
Confusion about time and place.
Mood swings.
Lack of self-awareness (e.g., dressing appropriately for weather)
Loss of personal hygiene habits like grooming and bathing themselves properly.
What is Dementia?
Dementia is a group of symptoms associated with an underlying condition that affects cognitive ability.
The most common types of dementia are: Alzheimer's disease, vascular (multi-infarct) dementia, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease.
Symptoms vary depending on the classification, but generally include problems with memory or thinking skills such as having trouble remembering things you just learned or struggling to think clearly when making decisions.
Dementia can be either chronic (on-going) or acute (temporary).
Chronic forms of dementia usually develop slowly over months while acute cases start suddenly within hours/days before it progresses into more severe stages in which there might not even be enough time left for treatment to make any difference at all.
Symptoms of Dementia
The symptoms of dementia vary depending on the underlying condition.
Since Alzheimer's is the most common type, we will focus our explanation around that, but other types can also cause problems with memory or thinking skills.
Other more rare forms of dementia include Frontotemporal degeneration and Huntington's disease.
These diseases can display themselves through a loss of personal hygiene habits such as grooming and bathing properly while Lewy body dementia has early signs that are similar to Parkinson's Disease.
The Effects of Alzheimer's Disease On the Brain
Alzheimer's disease is known to damage and kill brain cells, leading to a reduction in connections between neurons.
In the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease, there are no noticeable changes seen on CT or MRI scans. This means that doctors can only confirm its presence by looking at factors such as family history and neurological testing results.
Studies show increased levels of beta-amyloid plaques (a sticky build-up of proteins) within areas linked with memory function like the hippocampus while having reduced blood flow through major arteries supplying oxygenated blood throughout the brain regions affected by Alzheimer's disease.
Both dementia and Alzheimer's disease can alter the mental and physical state of their victims. If you are noticing any of these symptoms or effects, you should contact your physician immediately.
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