Question

What is the difference between Alzheimer and Dementia?

Answer 1

Difference between Alzheimer's and Dementia:

Dementia is a progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain , beyond what might be expected from normal Aging. Areas particularly affected include memory, attention, judgement, language and problem solving.

Alzheimer's or Alzheimer's disease is a specific disease of the brain or a disorder involving loss of mental functions resulting from brain tissue changes.

Dementia can be caused due to Alzheimer's disease. The term Dementia refers to a group of symptoms that negatively affect the mental abilities such as memory,thinking, judgement etc. Where as Alzheimer's is a specific disease that is characterised by the degeneration of bain cells and is responsible for 60 to 70 % of Dementia cases. Exact cause of Alzheimer's is not known and the age of onset usually after 60 years. In Alzheimer's, the connection between neurons may lost due to the deposition of an abnormal protien that resulting in tangles and plaque formation in Nerve cells and gradually neurons die and the brain volume also gets decreased.

Many disease conditions  can cause Dementia such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's and Parkinson's disease.

The symptoms of both conditions are similar, and except in Dementia due to Parkinson's or Huntington's , the patient may experience involuntary movements and poor balance at the initial stages of disease , which is not usual in Alzheimer's.