What are the symptomatic differences between Alzheimer's and dementia?!
Question: I know these two diseases have separate causes, but outwardly how do you tell them apart?
Answers: I know these two diseases have separate causes, but outwardly how do you tell them apart?
Alzheimer's is a form of dementia, the most common form.
With dementia in general, you might observe a person repeatedly ask the same questions, becoming lost or disoriented in familiar places, be unable to follow simple directions, disorientation as to the date or time of day, not able to recognize and be confused about familiar people, having difficulty with ordinary, routine activities, neglecting personal safety, hygiene, and forgetting to eat and drink. There may be poor coordination or balance.
The symptoms of Alzheimer's disease include a loss of recent (short-term) memory, problems with language (inability to find the right word or comprehend), calculation, abstract thinking and judgment, depression, anxiety and personality changes and unpredictable quirks or behaviors. A late stage development might be delusions and hallucinations and difficulty knowing time, date, or place.
Put these symptoms side by side. Do you see differences? That's how to differentiate.
They aren't two different things. Alzheimer's disease is one of the causes of dementia. Dementia is not a diagnosis; it's the name of a symptom (or syndrome if we mean a cluseter of symptoms and/or physical findings) that can be caused by several different specific diseases.
Here is a partial list of the causes of dementia from http://www.emedicinehealth.com/dementia_...
Dementia has many different causes, some of which are difficult to tell apart. Many medical conditions can cause dementia symptoms, especially in older people. The causes of dementia include various diseases and infections, strokes, head injuries, drugs, and nutritional deficiencies. All dementias reflect dysfunction in the cerebral cortex, or brain tissue. When the underlying process does not permanently damage the cortical tissue, the dementia may sometimes be stopped or reversed. In classifying dementias, medical professionals may separate reversible and irreversible dementias.
Irreversible causes
* Alzheimer disease: This is the most common cause of dementia
* Vascular dementia: caused by atherosclerosis
* Parkinson disease
* Huntington disease
* Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (mad cow disease
Treatable conditions
* Head injury
* Infections: such as meningitis and encephalitis, HIV/AIDS and syphilis
* Brain tumors
* Toxic exposure: People who work around solvents or heavy metal dust and fumes
* Hormone disorders: such as the thyroid gland,
* Nutritional deficiencies: Deficiencies of certain nutrients, especially B vitamins, can cause dementia if not corrected.
* Chronic alcoholism:
-----
You you don't tell them apart. If you've got a case of dementia, you try to determine which is the cause in case it can be treated. Alzheimes requires a brain biopsy to diagnose for certain which is seldom done before autopsy.
You can read the description of the symptoms here: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/dementia_...