Is it Alzheimer’s Disease, or is it Dementia?

What causes dementia?

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, accounting from 60 to 80% of all cases. But there is also vascular dementia, which is caused by blocked arteries that impede the brain’s supply of blood. Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia can be hard to tell apart from symptoms alone, and in fact they often exist together. But one difference may be that Alzheimer’s disease tends to show itself in the beginning by causing memory loss, while vascular dementia, in the early stages, tends to lead to trouble planning and making decisions. 

Other possible causes of dementia include Lewy body dementia, which, like Alzheimer’s, involves the build-up of toxic substances in the brain that interfere with the neurons’ communication with each other. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Huntington’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease can also cause dementia. 

Is it important to know the cause?

Yes! First of all, some conditions that cause dementia can actually be reversed—like vitamin deficiencies, low thyroid function, infections, or a buildup of fluid in the brain—and so it is important to test for them. And although most diseases that cause dementia cannot be cured, there are many ways to treat them. As medical science advances, the recommended treatments are becoming more specific to the underlying disease. There are medicines that can stabilize symptoms, at least for a while, and a diagnosis of the cause of dementia can help doctors know which medicine is the most appropriate. There are also many therapies that can be used to help someone who is suffering from dementia, and understanding the cause of the person’s dementia can help in tailoring the therapies to their symptoms.