For a lot of people, the words Alzheimer's disease and dementia are being used interchangeably. That is why it is important to know the difference between Alzheimers and dementia to be able to understand them better. Generally, dementia is a term that pertains to a group of physical and mental symptoms that become so severe that it may interfere with the day-to-day activity of a person. The symptoms can be caused by different disorders or diseases.
In short, dementia is a symptom whereas Alzheimer's disease is the cause. Dr. Robert Stern, who is the Director of Boston University of Alzheimer's disease center provides a more detailed description that highlights the difference between Alzheimers and dementia.
According to the World Health Organization, there are 35.6 million people around the world who are suffering from dementia. Though, it is not a disease, dementia is actually a collection of symptoms that can affect a person's mental activity including reasoning as well as memory. It can be caused by a variety of conditions and it is most common among patients with Alzheimer's disease.
To understand Dementia, a good analogy would be fever. Fever shoots the temperature of the person but doesn't give any information about what is causing the sickness. Dementia indicates that there is a problem with a person's brain, but doesn't provide information on what's causing the memory or cognitive problems. It's not a disease. Rather, it's a clinical presentation of a disease.
Some of the early signs of dementia include growing confusion and being forgetful. Patients who are suffering from this condition find it hard to remember faces as well as names. They cannot give care to themselves leading them to have inadequate personal hygiene.
Although Alzheimer's is just one symptom of dementia, it is hard to identify and might even be identified after death by carrying out a microscopic test of the patient's brains. However, the worst thing is that even after being the most difficult symptom of dementia to identify, of all people suffering from dementia 60-70 percent has Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer's is a kind of progressive brain disease and the exact cause of it is still unknown. There is still no cure for this kind of disease. It has been estimated by the National Institute of Health that there are more than five million people who have Alzheimer's in the United States. Younger people can have it, but the symptoms are often manifested by people starting at the age of 60.
There's one challenge which makes people confuse Alzheimer's disease and dementia. It's impossible to accurately diagnose someone with AD when they are alive. It can only be diagnosed after they die, when the brain tissues are carefully examined by a Neuropathologist. However, during their lifetime, a person can only be diagnosed with "probable AD". This term is used by researchers and doctors to indicate that a person is likely to show pathological features of Alzheimer's disease when their brain is examined after death.
It is important that doctors explain the difference between Alzheimers and dementia to their patients in order to avoid confusion. This way, the patient will be well-informed about the condition that he or she is suffering from. It would also give the doctors with the possible cure or prevention for the condition.
In short, dementia is a symptom whereas Alzheimer's disease is the cause. Dr. Robert Stern, who is the Director of Boston University of Alzheimer's disease center provides a more detailed description that highlights the difference between Alzheimers and dementia.
According to the World Health Organization, there are 35.6 million people around the world who are suffering from dementia. Though, it is not a disease, dementia is actually a collection of symptoms that can affect a person's mental activity including reasoning as well as memory. It can be caused by a variety of conditions and it is most common among patients with Alzheimer's disease.
To understand Dementia, a good analogy would be fever. Fever shoots the temperature of the person but doesn't give any information about what is causing the sickness. Dementia indicates that there is a problem with a person's brain, but doesn't provide information on what's causing the memory or cognitive problems. It's not a disease. Rather, it's a clinical presentation of a disease.
Some of the early signs of dementia include growing confusion and being forgetful. Patients who are suffering from this condition find it hard to remember faces as well as names. They cannot give care to themselves leading them to have inadequate personal hygiene.
Although Alzheimer's is just one symptom of dementia, it is hard to identify and might even be identified after death by carrying out a microscopic test of the patient's brains. However, the worst thing is that even after being the most difficult symptom of dementia to identify, of all people suffering from dementia 60-70 percent has Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer's is a kind of progressive brain disease and the exact cause of it is still unknown. There is still no cure for this kind of disease. It has been estimated by the National Institute of Health that there are more than five million people who have Alzheimer's in the United States. Younger people can have it, but the symptoms are often manifested by people starting at the age of 60.
There's one challenge which makes people confuse Alzheimer's disease and dementia. It's impossible to accurately diagnose someone with AD when they are alive. It can only be diagnosed after they die, when the brain tissues are carefully examined by a Neuropathologist. However, during their lifetime, a person can only be diagnosed with "probable AD". This term is used by researchers and doctors to indicate that a person is likely to show pathological features of Alzheimer's disease when their brain is examined after death.
It is important that doctors explain the difference between Alzheimers and dementia to their patients in order to avoid confusion. This way, the patient will be well-informed about the condition that he or she is suffering from. It would also give the doctors with the possible cure or prevention for the condition.
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Learn more about the stages of dementia. Stop by the dementia stages website where you can find out all about the differences in terminology between Dementia and Alzheimer's? and the different available treatments.
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