Alzheimer’s and Dementia do not mean the same thing although they share certain similarities. To give an example, some experts do not consider dementia to be a disease itself, but a natural deterioration of people’s cognitive abilities when they reach a certain age.
In contrast, Alzheimer’s is considered pathology. It has devastating effects on the patient and the people around him.
UNDERSTANDING DEMENTIA
Signs
As mentioned earlier, dementia may not
be an illness, but a group of brain disorders such as; progressive loss of mental abilities, decisions making, thinking clearly, or even emotional control. In this sense, it affects the behavior, the perception of objects and their environment, as well as the practice of daily activities.
A person who has dementia will need a close monitor because he has lost his autonomy and ability to perform actions such as bathing, dressing or eating. At the same time, the patient’s memory is considerably reduced, being utterly incapable of assimilating new information or remembering past events (anterograde and retrograde amnesia).
In addition to the above, it's common for people with dementia to be restless. They can be entirely out of their mind to the extent of getting undressed.
Causes
Among the most common causes of dementia are the age and the effect of some diseases, such as Parkinson’s, Down syndrome or vascular tumors.
UNDERSTANDING ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
Signs of disease
As for Alzheimer’s disease, it is considered a neurodegenerative disease. Although there is no cure for this condition and its origin responds to several factors, there are very effective treatments that can help slow its development.
People diagnosed with Alzheimer’s have a life expectancy of 10 and 15 years. Symptoms of this condition can lead to death from stroke, cancer or respiratory infections.
Also, Alzheimer’s disease has a hereditary risk factor, based on dominant genetic mutations that affect the descendants of these people. You can diagnose Alzheimer’s disease at the initial time when a persons ability to perform daily tasks is reduced. It continues until he/she is unable to talk or drive a car. Subsequently, the patient’s vocabulary is insufficient, his dependence is increasing, and he can barely internalize the date or place.
ALZHEIMER VS. DEMENTIA
The Factual Difference between Alzheimer's and Dementia Disease's
1. Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia are irreversible neurological disorders. These degenerative diseases affect the cognitive capacity of the individual, intervening in their cellular functions and their autonomy.
2. Dementia is not considered a disease, whereas Alzheimer’s disease has a pathological character.
3. You can determine specific causes of Dementia while; it has not been possible to establish a definitive risk factor that explains the onset of Alzheimer's.
4. Dementia does not cause the direct death of the patient, while those with Alzheimer’s disease will have a life expectancy of around 15 years.
5. Regarding the biological age at which dementia can occur, it only manifests after age 65, while Alzheimer’s disease can occur at younger generations, even in people who barely reach age 30 (at the beginning of the Alzheimer’s disease).
Conclusion
For all this, we can conclude that these are similar scenarios, but they have differences regarding their evolution, their symptoms, and their characteristics.
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