Often the terms 'dementia' and 'Alzheimer's disorder' are interchangeable when people speak about dementia symptoms and what used to be referred to as 'senility'. Here we explain the difference between dementia and Alzheimer's.
Symptoms of Dementia.
Dementia symptoms include impaired thinking, loss of memory, confusion, an inability to follow instructions and a person being unable to care for their own well-being.
These symptoms are all ones which exist in Alzheimer's disease so often people use the terms interchangeably, but in actual fact Alzheimer's is just one cause of dementia, and the dementia is apparent in the later stages of the disease.
Some forms of dementia cannot be cured - such as Alzheimer's Disorder - and are a gradual decline of cognitive awareness and ability.
Other forms of dementia are caused by environmental issues, or curable illnesses and health problems.
Alzheimer's Disorder.
Alzheimer's is an illness. It is one of the causes of dementia, but not the only cause. It does account for the majority of cases of dementia - up to 80% - and is symptomized by cognitive decline, forgetfulness and loss of memory which eventually result in personality changes and behavioral problems.
Alzheimer's disorder is usually late-onset and occurs in people over the age of 65, though there are some cases of early-onset Alzheimer's Disorder with symptoms beginning in the person's 30's or 40's.
Dementia is an umbrella term.
Dementia is a group of symptoms caused by a variety of illnesses and disorders.
In much the same way that a fever can be caused by a number of different infections or illnesses, dementia can be caused by a number of things.
People who suffer from dementia have impaired thinking, memory loss, and are unable to do things they used to do independently.
The sliding scale of dementia means that many people suffer to different degrees, but essentially cannot perform day to day tasks and become confused easily, cannot remember people, are unsure of where they are or how to find their way home, and cannot follow instructions or keep track of time.
Dementia can be caused by a number of illnesses and disorders, some of which mean a permanent state of dementia, some of which can be cured or recovered from.
These include:
• Alzheimer's Disorder
• Vascular Dementia
• Fronto-temporal Dementia
• Lewy body Dementia
• Pseudo-dementia
• Vitamin deficiency
• Hypothyroidism
• Neuro-syphilis
Vascular dementia is caused when the blood supply to the brain is impaired.
Fronto-temporal dementia is caused when a build up of abnormal proteins damages the frontal and temporal lobes within the brain, and causes significant changes in behaviour.
Lewy body dementia is caused by deposits of proteins in nerve cells and shares similarities with Parkinson's disease.
Pseudo-dementia is associated with other disorders such as depression and schizophrenia.
The most preventable and most curable, of all forms of dementia are the miscellaneous causes such as vitamin deficiency or hypothyroidism, which can be remedied by administering the correct medications.
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