Difference Between Alzheimer's vs Dementia: Everything You Should Know
Intro
Alzheimer’s and dementia are commonly confused as the same condition however, they are biologically different. Alzheimer’s is a disease but dementia is a set of symptoms. In other words, Alzheimer’s is always a form of dementia, but dementia is not always a form of Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is, however, the most common form of dementia. Although they are biologically different, both conditions share many of the same symptoms, such as a decline in thought processing ability, memory and ability to communicate. When a person is diagnosed with dementia, they are diagnosed with a set of symptoms and may not know the cause immediately without extensive testing.
Alzheimer’s-
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While some of the above symptoms of Alzheimer’s will overlap with dementia, there are other symptoms that are excluded or included in dementia that help to make a differential diagnosis. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia. Over 70% of all dementia cases are thought to be caused by Alzheimer’s. It is also vital to understand how dementia occurs and how to differentiate dementia from Alzheimer’s to properly treat and manage the condition.
Dementia- What is it?
Dementia is a syndrome, not a disease, unlike Alzheimer’s. It can occur when certain brain cells are damaged by various infections, diseases, head injuries or imbalances. This damage interferes with the ability of brain cells to communicate with each other. When brain cells are unable to communicate normally, thinking, behavior and feelings can be affected. Different brain cells are affected by different types of dementia. When brain cells in a particular region are affected, that area of brain function is
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While clearly Alzheimer’s and dementia show similar symptoms and overlap in some diagnostic testing and treatments, they are not the same condition. Dementia is a syndrome and Alzheimer’s is a disease
Dementia is shown to be caused by many different issues, with Alzheimer’s being the most frequent cause. Alzheimer’s may be a form of dementia but dementia is not always a form of Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s develops gradually over time. Dementia can be brought on in a short amount of time by things such as infections, trauma, and alcohol.
Alzheimer’s does not currently have a cure and is not reversible, while dementia can be cured in some instances. However, continuing research is being done to explore the impact of other risk factors for brain health and prevention of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Cardiovascular health, diet, and exercise are the three most active areas of research for prevention at this
Dementia is a serious disorder caused by a variety of brain illnesses which affects a person memory .There are three symptoms stages which are early,middle,and late stages. A Person with dementia lose the ability to think well enough to do everyday activities or solve problems. It is also difficult for a person with dementia to interact with others which makes this disease overwhelming for the families of the Patient. The number of people who have dementia is currently estimated at 47.5 million.
Dementia is not a specific illness. It 's an overall term that describes a range of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to cut a person 's ability to do everyday activities. Alzheimer disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of cases. Vascular dementia, which occurs after a stroke, is the second most common dementia type. Dementia is often incorrectly referred to as "senility" or "senile dementia," which reflects the formerly widespread but incorrect belief that serious mental decline is a normal part of aging.
Dementia History Dementia is a disease that brings grief to a family if it is not handled correctly. This disease gradually begins and worsens the cognitive ability over several years. In the dawn of nineteenth century, dementia was just a clinical concept. The doctors believed that dementia in aged people fluctuated within the idea that was due to the blockage in the major arteries in the brain or small strokes inside the vessels of the cerebral cortex. Recently they believe that the dementia is caused due to the mixture of both conditions.
Dementia should be viewed as a disability as the symptoms affect the individuals’ ability to be responsible for their everyday needs for example taking medication, remembering to eat and drink. Dementia also affects a persons’ capacity which can be a risk to their safety. Symptoms of dementia can be a big risk to the person as it affects memory so the person with dementia could forget vital things like turning an over off, not locking doors. Balance can also be affected so falls, slips and trips are quite common which means aids need to be put into place to try and prevent the risk of falls, slips, trips and other risks like leaving the oven on or not taking medication. Not having the capacity or ability to act responsibly for their health and safety is viewed as
I. Just imagine waking up one morning and not knowing or remembering anything you did yesterday or the past years of your life? Well that’s what people who have dementia go through. They cannot remember who their kids are or anyone around them. II. Dementia effects your memory and a person’s ability to achieve a normal everyday task and activities.
The article titled “Half of Alzheimer 's cases misdiagnosed” made it evidently clear that Alzheimer’s disease is a disease we have yet to fully understand or treat. Not only is there a lack of information about this disease, it is common for the similar side effects of dementia to be confused with Alzheimer’s disease. To clarify what dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is, I will provide an authentic definition of each. To begin, I will state that there are different forms of dementia. According to a site that specializes in providing information about dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, states that “Dementia is a general term for loss of memory and other mental abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life.
Introduction Alzheimer’s is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and gets worse over time. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events or short memory loss. As the disease advances, symptoms can include difficulty with language, disorientation, mood swing and behavior problems. As a person 's condition progressed, they often withdraw from friends and family. Slowly, bodily functions deteriorated and eventually death occurs.
My first encounter with Alzheimer’s was when I was 13 years old and I watched my 70-year-old grandfather fight one of his sons. I didn’t understand why they were fighting, and it terrified me to see it happening. Once my other uncles broke up the fight and everything seemed to have begun to calm down, I asked my grandfather what was wrong. His response was one that I was not prepared for. He told me that he didn’t know why that man was in his house and talking to him like a child.
The term dementia has not been used uniformly in the historical
As the body ages the brain follows and can start to loose normal functioning. This may be in the form of affecting memory, thinking, and social abilities. When these impairments become severe enough to interfere with daily functioning they are diagnosable as a form of dementia. The Center of Disease Control defines dementia as “an umbrella term for a group of cognitive disorders typically characterized by memory impairment, as well as marked difficulty in the domains of language, motor activity, object recognition, and disturbance of executive function” [6]. The umbrella term dementia encases many variations of the above definition.
Dementia Stage 2: At this stage memory lapses and confusion become more obvious and the person can no longer hide her memory gaps from family and friends. Her short term memory is very impaired and she may ask a lot of repetitive questions and be anxious about when events are happening. Her ability to manage her day-to-day life is affected. A formerly neat person may become messy.
By learning what AD is and how to diagnose it, the expectation is to learn about Early Onset Alzheimer’s disease (EOAD). There is
People’s working memory slowly declines over time and can greatly be seen when the memory involves speed processing, episodic, long-term memory. But by exercising out brains we can keep our memory, at least some parts from declining as rapidly or till later in life. Alzheimer’s Disease begins be looking like someone is just get old and are forgetting where things are. I personally sometime forget where I park my car on campus some days especially, if I don’t park in my usual spot it takes me a few second to have to think of where I parked that day. The people with Alzheimer’s starts forgetting words and remembering the new things, like names.
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurocognitive disorder which currently affects roughly 40 million people worldwide. Nevertheless, those statistics are rising due to a combined effect of the baby boomer generation and advanced medical treatment leading to longer life spans (Chumakov, et al., 2015). Diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer’s disease is two-fold. First, the criteria must be met for a Mild Neurocognitive Disorder as detailed in the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5.In order to diagnose mild or major neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer’s disease the above criteria must be met as specified in the DSM-5.
Furthermore, the likelihood that a few patients built up a dementia other than AD cannot be ruled out; the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria have a high affectability however a direct specificity (Modrego, Ferrández, 2004). I wished the study talked more about how the findings could be used in the future to help eradicated dementia. In addition, I wish the study talk more about new and improved treatment plans that could be developed using the study as the