Difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s
Dementia is not a disease or illness. Dementia is a word that describes a decline in cognitive abilities — such as thinking, memory, judgment and reasoning, language, understanding of place and time, and social abilities — severe enough to disrupt daily life.
Dementia is a word that describes a group of symptoms caused by a disease, illness, or other condition. It is a broad-category word, like the word cancer.
Just as there are different types of cancer, there are different types of dementia.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of irreversible dementia in adults ages 65 and older. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s disease accounts for between 60 percent and 80 percent of all cases of dementia.
We don’t know if plaques and tangles in the brain are the result of Alzheimer’s disease, or if they cause Alzheimer’s disease.
However, we do know that the buildup of plaques and tangles cause brain cells to die, which causes the brain to shrink.
Dementia is not a disease or illness. Dementia is a word that describes a decline in cognitive abilities — such as thinking, memory, judgment and reasoning, language, understanding of place and time, and social abilities — severe enough to disrupt daily life.
Dementia is a word that describes a group of symptoms caused by a disease, illness, or other condition. It is a broad-category word, like the word cancer.
Just as there are different types of cancer, there are different types of dementia.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of irreversible dementia in adults ages 65 and older. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s disease accounts for between 60 percent and 80 percent of all cases of dementia.
We don’t know if plaques and tangles in the brain are the result of Alzheimer’s disease, or if they cause Alzheimer’s disease.
However, we do know that the buildup of plaques and tangles cause brain cells to die, which causes the brain to shrink.
