It is easy to confuse the difference between dementia and
Alzheimer's. Simply put, dementia is a general diagnosis and a range of
scenarios can cause it. Alzheimer's on the other hand, is a specific type of
dementia.
It's important that individuals and families learn the difference
between the two because it can alter how you approach a
plan for short and long-term care.
The Difference Between Dementia and Alzheimer's
What is Dementia?
Dementia is a symptom. Just like a headache or a sore throat, it
presents itself similarly in individuals, even if the cause of the symptom is
different. So, if a person has dementia, they exhibit signs of memory loss and
other cognitive problems that disrupts everyday life. In certain cases,
dementia can be reversed or greatly slowed by treating the cause, although this
isn't always the case.
Symptoms of dementia include:
- Confusion and disorientation
regarding the time of day or familiar, geographic locations.
- Difficulty completing everyday
tasks, such as cooking and cleaning.
- Challenges communicating or
finding the right words, both verbally and in writing.
- Struggling to find things that
have been misplaced, often the result of forgetting where an item usually
"lives" and putting it in an odd place.
- Mood swings or irritability.
- Social withdrawal or a lack of
interest in favorite people or activities.
As you can imagine, irreversible dementia becomes very dangerous
because a person can forget to turn a flame off on the stovetop, become
disoriented while walking or driving and can even forget to eat or observe
basic hygiene rituals.
The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. That
being said, it isn't the only cause. Additional causes of dementia, which
affects memory and language, include:
- Traumatic brain injury
- Stroke
- Parkinson's Disease
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
- Huntington's Disease
- Brain tumor
- Heart disease that leads to
vascular dementia
Even severe dehydration and sleep deprivation can cause temporary
dementia, as can UTIs in the senior population.
While it's difficult to cure or reverse dementia, doctor's believe
maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle are key to preventing some of the most
common health conditions that contribute to dementia's development. Individual
care, in the form of an
in-home nurse or assisted living facility that specializes in memory
care, is key to improving the quality of life for adults diagnosed with
dementia.
What is Alzheimer's Disease?
As mentioned above, Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause
of dementia, which is one of the reasons it's easy to be confused about the
difference between dementia and Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer's disease, however, is a very specific diagnosis and it
causes irreversible damage to brain cells, which ultimately affects language,
memory and thought processes. The disease is progressive and exists in two
forms:
- Early-onset Alzheimer's is the
most rare type, diagnosed in adults ages 30 - 60-years.
- Late-onset Alzheimer's is
diagnosed in people 60+ years of age.
The symptoms of Alzheimer's are identical to those of dementia but
can't be diagnosed via tests just yet. Instead, doctors use diagnostic tests -
like brain imaging - to rule out other causes of dementia. If those causes are
ruled out, the resulting diagnosis is typically Alzheimer's. Currently, only a
postmortem autopsy determines whether or not an Alzheimer's diagnosis is
correct.
A specific cause of Alzheimer's has yet to be discovered.
Researchers believe genetics, environment and lifestyle play the largest
factors in its development. Planning for some type of in-home
or assisted living care is the best bet for keeping Alzheimer's
patients as healthy, active and safe as the disease progresses.
Are you or someone you love exhibiting symptoms of dementia or
Alzheimer's disease?
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