Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia and it is associated with disease in the blood vessels in the brain. Lewy body disease is an umbrella term that describes conditions that include Parkinson's disease and Pakinson's disease dementia.
A secondary dementia is defined as a form of dementia that develops as a peripheral condition to a pre-existing mental illness or physical condition. An example of this is a patient with Parkinson's disease who can develop dementia in advanced stages of the disease.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease causes a type of dementia that gets worse unusually fast. More common causes of dementia, such as Alzheimer's, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia, typically progress more slowly. Through a process scientists don't yet understand, misfolded prion protein destroys brain cells.
Progressive dementias. Types of dementias that progress and aren't reversible include: Alzheimer's disease.
Vascular dementia, which occurs because of microscopic bleeding and blood vessel blockage in the brain, is the second most common cause of dementia. Those who experience the brain changes of multiple types of dementia simultaneously have mixed dementia.
Secondary dementia indicates the condition occurs as a result of another physical disease or injury. For example, a person who has a brain tumor or is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease can develop dementia in the progression of the disease.
Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia
This is the most common type of mixed dementia. The person affected has two different diseases in their brain that contribute to their dementia symptoms.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia. It is a progressive disease beginning with mild memory loss and possibly leading to loss of the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to the environment. Alzheimer's disease involves parts of the brain that control thought, memory, and language.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. Alzheimer's disease is a physical brain condition resulting in impaired memory, thinking and behaviour.
On average, people with vascular dementia will progress faster than those with Alzheimer's disease. There is some overlap in the symptoms of each disease, but each has a unique profile.
The primary degenerative dementias stem from progressive, irreversible neuronal destruction, while reversible dementias are caused by progressive but potentially reversible dementia (PRD) of secondary origin.
For example, a person may have Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.
Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's is the most common type of dementia and is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. (Source: Alz.org) This brain disorder is an irreversible, progresses slowly and continually gets worse by destroying memory and thinking skills.
Symptoms of vascular dementia can begin gradually or can occur suddenly, and then progress over time, with possible short periods of improvement. Vascular dementia can occur alone or be a part of a different diagnosis such as Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia.
Common early symptoms of dementia
memory loss. difficulty concentrating. finding it hard to carry out familiar daily tasks, such as getting confused over the correct change when shopping. struggling to follow a conversation or find the right word.
Stage 2: Very mild cognitive decline
Stage 2 can vary between typical age-related memory problems that most seniors face, such as forgetting specific dates or slower recall of a name or word. Or this stage could include some of the beginning signs of dementia that are often not obvious to doctors and loved ones.
Overview of disease progression
The symptoms of Alzheimer's disease worsen over time, although the rate at which the disease progresses varies. On average, a person with Alzheimer's lives four to eight years after diagnosis, but can live as long as 20 years, depending on other factors.
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.
Over time, the disease causing the dementia spreads to other parts of the brain. This leads to more symptoms because more of the brain is unable to work properly. At the same time, already-damaged areas of the brain become even more affected, causing symptoms the person already has to get worse.