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Dementia Vs. Alzhemier's

Dementia is the loss of cognitive abilities such as memory, good balanced judgement and basic language skills. Alzheimer's is a disease with several symptoms, including dementia. Since dementia can be caused by other things like depression and thyroid issues, it's important to go to a doctor for an exam instead of assuming that you or a loved one has Alzheimer's.

  1. Causes of Alzheimer's

    • Alzheimer's is brain damage caused by plaques and tangles. Plaques happen when the protein beta-amyloid collects in between nerve cells. Tangles are threads or fibers of the protein tau that form inside the nerve cell. This does occur with natural aging, but the damage is far worse with Alzheimer's and always starts in the area of the brain for memory. There are three stages of Alzheimer's: mild, moderate and severe.

    Mild Alzheimer's

    • Mild Alzheimer's is easy for an elderly person to cover up. Most loved ones assume forgetfulness and bad judgement is due to old age and not dementia. A sign that it's dementia is when he or she repeats the exact same story or activity over and over again.

    Moderate Alzheimer's

    • In the moderate stage, it's much easier to realize there's a deeper issue than old age. Oftentimes the person has to be put in a nursing home because he or she will wander around and get lost, hurt or attack people. He or she needs help using the restroom, bathing and dressing. Sometimes he or she will have hallucinations. His or her spells of dementia will occur more often and last for longer periods of time.

    Severe Alzheimer's

    • Almost all patients with severe Alzheimer's are wheelchair or bed bound. They basically get treated like babies. They can't talk much; mainly repetitive sounds and hand clapping.

    Types of Alzheimer's

    • There are three different types of Alzheimer's. Early onset Alzheimer's is when it's diagnosed in people under the age of 65. Late-onset is diagnosed after age 65. Familial Alzheimer's Disease (FAD) is extremely rare and inherited when two or more generations have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. There's no cure for Alzheimer's, but people can live up to 20 years, sometimes more, after diagnosis.

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