What is worse, Alzheimer's or dementia? It is important to understand that the difference between Alzheimer's and dementia means that one is not worse than the other. Alzheimer's disease causes dementia. A person with Alzheimer's disease has both Alzheimer's and dementia.
Alzheimer's disease starts in the brain many years before symptoms start to show. Early symptoms are mild and so don't stop someone doing their normal everyday activities. It's only later that symptoms become severe enough to be called 'dementia'.
While dementia is a general term, Alzheimer's disease is a specific brain disease. It is marked by symptoms of dementia that gradually get worse over time. Alzheimer's disease first affects the part of the brain associated with learning, so early symptoms often include changes in memory, thinking and reasoning skills.
A few people with Alzheimer's live for longer, sometimes for 15 or even 20 years. Vascular dementia – around five years. This is lower than the average for Alzheimer's mostly because someone with vascular dementia is more likely to die from a stroke or heart attack than from the dementia itself.
Overall, know that Alzheimer's disease is a specific disease, while dementia is a general term for a group of similar diseases, of which Alzheimer's is one. In other words, every case of Alzheimer's disease is an example of dementia, but not every type of dementia is Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive disease that gradually worsens over a period of four to 20 years.
The speed at which dementia progresses varies a lot from person to person because of factors such as: the type of dementia – for example, Alzheimer's disease tends to progress more slowly than the other types.
People often live for years with dementia. While it can be difficult to think of these diseases as terminal, they do eventually lead to death.
Many people affected by dementia are concerned that they may inherit or pass on dementia. The majority of dementia is not inherited by children and grandchildren. In rarer types of dementia there may be a strong genetic link, but these are only a tiny proportion of overall cases of dementia.
I'm going to discuss five of the most basic ones here: 1) Don't tell them they are wrong about something, 2) Don't argue with them, 3) Don't ask if they remember something, 4) Don't remind them that their spouse, parent or other loved one is dead, and 5) Don't bring up topics that may upset them.
The causes probably include a combination of age-related changes in the brain, along with genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. The importance of any one of these factors in increasing or decreasing the risk of Alzheimer's disease may differ from person to person.
Alzheimer's disease tends to develop slowly and gradually worsens over several years. Eventually, Alzheimer's disease affects most areas of your brain. Memory, thinking, judgment, language, problem-solving, personality and movement can all be affected by the disease.
There are about twice as many women over 65 with Alzheimer's as there are men over 65 with the condition. This is mostly because women tend to live longer than men. However, women over the age of 80 still have a slightly higher risk of getting Alzheimer's than men their age.
Administration: The examiner reads a list of 5 words at a rate of one per second, giving the following instructions: “This is a memory test. I am going to read a list of words that you will have to remember now and later on. Listen carefully. When I am through, tell me as many words as you can remember.
According to researchers, life expectancy for those 65 and older with Alzheimer's disease varies between four to eight years after diagnosis but some live as long as 20 years. The main predictor is age, as those diagnosed at a younger age tend to live longer.
Is Alzheimer's passed on by mother or father? Alzheimer's is not passed on by the mother more than the father, or vice versa. A mother or father may pass on an “Alzheimer's gene” or mutation that increases your risk. Even if both your parents pass on a risk gene, your Alzheimer's risk is higher, but not certain.
Those who have a parent, brother or sister with Alzheimer's are more likely to develop the disease. The risk increases if more than one family member has the illness. When diseases tend to run in families, either heredity (genetics), environmental factors, or both, may play a role.
Sleeping more and more is a common feature of later-stage dementia. As the disease progresses, the damage to a person's brain becomes more extensive and they gradually become weaker and frailer over time.
The longest stage of Alzheimer's disease is the middle stage, also known as moderate Alzheimer's disease. This stage can last for several years, and it is characterized by a decline in cognitive function, memory loss, and changes in behavior and personality.
The middle stages of dementia are when anger and aggression are most likely to start. This can occur as other symptoms like wandering, hoarding, and compulsive behaviors can be seen by your loved one.
In the late stage of Alzheimer's, the person typically becomes unable to walk. This inability to move around can cause skin breakdown (pressure sores) and joint “freezing.”
In stage 6 of dementia, a person may start forgetting the names of close loved ones and have little memory of recent events.
The Mini-Cog test.
A third test, known as the Mini-Cog, takes 2 to 4 minutes to administer and involves asking patients to recall three words after drawing a picture of a clock. If a patient shows no difficulties recalling the words, it is inferred that he or she does not have dementia.