Dear Savvy Senior,

What is the difference between Alzheimer's disease and dementia? My aunt is suffering from dementia, but she does not know if she is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, which is very confusing for me.

Trying to Understand

Dear Trying,

Many people use the words "Alzheimer's" and "dementia" interchangeably, but they are not the same thing.In fact, you can have a shape of dementia that has no connection with Alzheimer's disease Here is what you should know

Dementia Against Alzheimer's Disease

Dementia is a a general term for a set of symptoms that includes memory loss, communication disorders, a decline in reasoning, and behavioral changes, most often affecting the elderly and known as senility.

Alzheimer's disease is a specific disease that is the most common cause of dementia.Although many diseases can cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease – which affects 5.7 million Americans today – represents 60 to 8 0% of cases of dementia, which is why we often hear the terms used interchangeably.

the symptoms of dementia as vascular dementia, which is the second most common cause, accounting for about 10 percent of dementia cases. Vascular dementia is caused by a stroke or poor circulation to the brain.

Lewy body dementia, Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Huntington's disease are other degenerative diseases that can cause dementia. and Korsakoff syndrome. Some patients may also have more of a form of dementia known as mixed dementia.

Dementia is caused by damage to brain cells, but symptoms may vary by cause. In the case of Alzheimer 's disease, protein fragments or plaques that accumulate in the space between nerve cells and entanglements of another protein that s'. accumulates inside cells cause damage

can not carry out daily activities and can not talk, respond to his environment, swallow or walk. Although some treatments may temporarily alleviate symptoms, the progression to the bottom of the disease continues and it is not curable.

But some forms of dementia are reversible, which is why it is important to be evaluated by a doctor. Vitamin deficiencies, thyroid problems, brain tumors, depression, excessive consumption of alcohol, side effects of drugs and some infectious diseases can cause reversible forms of dementia.

Another form of treatable dementia is normal pressure hydrocephalus. an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain that can be relieved by surgically implanting a shunt to evacuate excess fluid. This type of dementia is often preceded or accompanied by difficulties with walking and incontinence.

To learn more about the different types of dementia, including symptoms, risks, causes, and treatments, visit the Alzheimer's Association at http://www.alz.org/dementia. [19659021] Send your questions to: Savvy Senior, PO Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of the book "The Savvy Senior"

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