Dementia vs. Alzheimer’s Disease:
Are They the Same?
Alzheimer’s is just one common cause of cognitive
decline categorized as ‘dementia’
Elderly patient’s hand being held by a caregiver
It’s natural to lose some cognitive function as we
age. Maybe we forget where we put our keys or we can’t come up with the name of
that one actress. But even as we grow older, there are telling behavioral,
physical and mental signs that cognitive decline is occurring at a faster and
more severe rate. When this happens, we begin talking about dementia and
Alzheimer’s disease as a potential cause.
But these terms, although related, often get
confused with one another.
Neuropsychologist Aaron
Bonner-Jackson, PhD, explains what we’re really talking about when we discuss
dementia vs. Alzheimer’s, how they’re connected and how to use this information.
What’s the difference between dementia and
Alzheimer’s disease?
A lot of people use dementia and Alzheimer’s
interchangeably — even medical professionals, says Dr. Bonner-Jackson. Though
commonly linked to one another, they’re not always associated with every case
of cognitive decline. “Dementia” is the overarching term used to describe a
group of symptoms that affect your cognitive abilities, while Alzheimer’s is a
specific type and cause of dementia.
“There are a variety of conditions that can cause
dementia, and the most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease,” he
explains. “That’s why they’re used interchangeably — because so often, the
cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s.”
“Dementia” is an umbrella term that describes a
situation in which someone has a significant decline in their thinking
abilities like memory, problem-solving or communication. Dementia is more than
just forgetting a word here or there. Dementia looks more like having
difficulty maintaining a conversation or forgetting the name of a familiar face
you’ve known for months or even years.
“The decline with dementia is more than what we’d
expect for their age,” clarifies Dr. Bonner-Jackson. “That decline results in
difficulty managing their daily activities like taking care of themselves,
driving, remembering to pay the bills or remembering to take their
medications.”
There are a variety of different causes of dementia,
some of which start to present earlier in life and have overlapping symptoms of
general cognitive decline. But many causes have their own set of markers that
make them unique.
Frontal-temporal dementia, for example, can cause
drastic changes in a person’s behavior or personality. They might act more impulsively
than usual, spend egregious amounts of money or blurt out rude or inappropriate
comments — behaviors that would be considered highly unusual for the person
who’s developed this condition.
Primary progressive aphasia, on the other hand, is
more related to language. “Someone with primary progressive aphasia might have
trouble coming up with words, naming things, getting words out fluently or
understanding what other people are saying,” Dr. Bonner-Jackson explains.
These are but just a couple of the many causes of
dementia, making cognitive testing ever more critical.
“Usually, we require more thorough neurological
examinations to differentiate between these symptoms and find the underlying
cause of someone’s dementia,” he continues.
Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause and
type of dementia. With Alzheimer’s, nerve cells in your brain begin to die as a
result of being disrupted by excess plaques and twisted fibers caused by a
buildup of amyloid and tau
proteins in the brain. These plaques tend to form during the early stages of
Alzheimer’s around the hippocampus — the part of your brain that controls
memory — before progressively spreading to other areas of your brain and
causing further damage.
“Generally, the first symptom of Alzheimer’s is
short-term memory loss or the inability to remember recent events or
conversations. Someone may repeat themselves, asking the same question over and
over. They may have difficulty remembering names of familiar people, friends or
family members,” Dr. Bonner-Jackson explains.
Although Alzheimer’s is only one cause of dementia,
there are diagnostic tests available to determine the presence of the disease
by looking for specific neurological markers.
“We can test for certain proteins in someone’s
cerebral spinal fluid to get a more definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s,” he
adds. “We also have specialized brain scans called positron emission tomography
(PET) scans that can look for the presence of certain proteins in the person’s
brain.”
Why this matters
Dementia — whether it’s hereditary, caused by
Alzheimer’s or something else — isn’t preventable and there isn’t a cure. But
you can work to reduce some of your risks for developing dementia by focusing
on maintaining your brain health and solving for other conditions that increase
your risk for dementia like hearing loss, vision loss, diabetes or heart
disease.
“We can’t do anything about our family history or
our genetics, but we can do something to improve lifestyle factors and try to
maintain good habits that positively impact our physical and mental health,”
encourages Dr. Bonner-Jackson. “Doing so could either reduce our risk for
dementia or delay the onset of any symptoms for years. That’s the goal.”