Alzheimer’s and Dementia

Dementia is loss of intellectual functions (such as thinking, remembering, and reasoning) of sufficient severity to interfere with a person’s daily functioning. Dementia is not a disease itself but rather a group of symptoms that may accompany certain diseases or conditions. Symptoms may also include changes in personality, mood, and behavior. Dementia is irreversible when caused by disease or injury but may be reversible when caused by drugs, alcohol, hormone or vitamin imbalances, or depression.

Many people confuse Alzheimer’s and Dementia. They see the terms as synonymous. As seen in the definition above for dementia, Alzheimer's Disease is a form of Dementia. Dementia also be caused by other diseases, infections, alcohol, drugs, stroke and head injuries.

There are different forms of dementia and each has its own causes. Dementia may also be a symptom that develops in the later stages of some illnesses. Some of the most common forms or causes of dementia:

• Alzheimer's disease
• Vascular dementia
• Parkinson's disease
• Dementia with Lewy bodies
• Huntington disease
• Alcohol related dementia - Korsakoffs syndrome
• Frontotemporal dementia with Parkinsonism-17
• Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease.