Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting 5.2 million Americans over the age of 65, as well as hundreds of thousands under the age of 65 who have early-onset Alzheimer's.
At first, Alzheimer's disease typically destroys neurons and their connections in parts of the brain involved in memory, including the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus. It later affects areas in the cerebral cortex responsible for language, reasoning, and social behavior.
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.
These plaques and tangles in the brain are still considered some of the main features of Alzheimer's. Another feature is the loss of connections between neurons in the brain. Neurons transmit messages between different parts of the brain, and from the brain to muscles and organs in the body.
The pathological features of Alzheimer's disease, described below, are associated with profound degeneration of neurons and synapses in a few regions of the CNS, including the temporal, parietal, and frontal cortices, all of which are associated with learning and memory processes.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a central neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive cognitive impairment, specific types of neurons, and synaptic loss.
Dementia is caused by damage to brain cells. This damage interferes with the ability of brain cells to communicate with each other. When brain cells cannot communicate normally, thinking, behavior and feelings can be affected.
Alzheimer's disease. In Alzheimer's disease, among the areas often damaged first are the hippocampus and its connected structures. This makes it much harder for someone to form new memories or learn new information.
Among the most common are epilepsy, Alzheimer's, and stroke.
Neurological disorders are central and peripheral nervous system diseases, that is, they occur in the brain, spine, and multiple nerves that connect both.
Alzheimer's disease and dementia are most common in Western Europe (with North America close behind) and least common in Sub-Saharan Africa. African-Americans are about twice as likely to have Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia as whites.
Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging.
The greatest known risk factor is increasing age, and the majority of people with Alzheimer's are 65 and older. Alzheimer's disease is considered to be younger-onset Alzheimer's if it affects a person under 65. Younger-onset can also be referred to as early-onset Alzheimer's.
While Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, there are also other common types such as vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia and Frontotemporal dementia. There are also rarer types of dementia that are caused by other diseases and conditions.
Autonomic dysfunction has been shown in Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementias. Common symptoms include orthostatic dizziness, syncope, falls, urinary tract symptoms and constipation.
Alzheimer's disease is a life-limiting illness, although many people diagnosed with the condition will die from another cause. As Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurological condition, it can cause problems with swallowing.
Dementia is caused by damage to or loss of nerve cells and their connections in the brain. Depending on the area of the brain that's damaged, dementia can affect people differently and cause different symptoms.
Functional disorders, such as headache, epilepsy, dizziness, and neuralgia. Degeneration, such as Parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Huntington chorea, and Alzheimer disease.
Acute meningitis is an infection of the membranes (meninges) covering the brain and spinal cord. It is the most common infectious disease of the CNS.
Disorders of the nervous system may include: Vascular disorders, such as stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), subarachnoid hemorrhage, subdural hemorrhage and hematoma, and extradural hemorrhage. Infections, such as meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis, and epidural abscess.
Alzheimer's disease is thought to be caused by the abnormal build-up of proteins in and around brain cells. One of the proteins involved is called amyloid, deposits of which form plaques around brain cells. The other protein is called tau, deposits of which form tangles within brain cells.
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.
Dementia vs. Alzheimer's Disease: What is the Difference? Dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life, while Alzheimer's is a specific disease. Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia.
Alzheimer's disease, the most common dementia diagnosis among older adults. It is caused by changes in the brain, including abnormal buildups of proteins known as amyloid plaques and tau tangles.
Frontal lobes
This part of the brain eventually becomes damaged in most types of dementia. They are where information is stored and processed, which allows a person to make rational decisions and judgements. Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is most closely linked to damage in the frontal lobes.
Hippocampus. The hippocampus, located in the brain's temporal lobe, is where episodic memories are formed and indexed for later access.