Dementia Vs Alzheimer: Difference, and Symptoms – Both Alzheimer’s and dementia are brain disorders whose main symptom are difficult to remember various things. In fact, these two conditions are actually different.
The trigger of a person to experience Alzheimer’s and dementia is usually age-increasing. However, to be remembered, both Alzheimer and dementia are not commonplace to occur in the elderly because they are health disorders, or diseases. While there are many similarities, they have a fundamental difference, so they cannot be confused.
Alzheimer vs dementia differences
Dementia vs alzheimer definition
Dementia
Dementia can be interpreted as a set of symptoms that interfere with the cognitive function of the brain to communicate and do things in everyday life. The term dementia usually illustrates the difficulty of thinking someone is experiencing, meaning there is more than one cognitive disorder that can cause a person to experience dementia.
Alzheimer
While Alzheimer is a disease and it is one of the causes of a person experiencing symptoms of dementia.
Alzheimer’s is the cause of 60 to 70 percent cases of dementia. Alzheimer’s can also be said as one form of specific diseases of dementia. Unlike any diseases or disorders of the body’s function due to infection and drug use that causes dementia, Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the destruction or death of brain cells and has not been cured by now.
Alzheimer’s is a disease that is gradual and lasts for a long time. Usually one begins to be diagnosed at the age of 60 years. However, young people can also experience Alzheimer’s disease.
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Organic Brain Syndrome
Dementia Vs Alzheimer Symptoms
A glimpse of Alzheimer’s and dementia has the same symptoms, namely memory impairment, difficulty in communicating, and decreased ability to think. The symptom of dementia depends on its cause and some symptoms may be similar to Alzheimer’s.
However, in Alzheimer’s, the symptoms are not merely impaired memory, decreased ability to think, or difficulty in communicating but there are other symptoms.
Other symptoms of Alzheimer’s are indifferent, decreased ability to think, difficulty in remembering conversations or recently occurring events, depression, confusion, behavioral changes, and disorientation.
In the more severe stages of Alzheimer’s disease, sufferers will experience symptoms of swallowing, walking, and speaking difficulties.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s Causes
Dementia is caused by damage to nerve cells and also the connections between nerves in the brain. There are several conditions that increase this risk, such as genetic factors, the presence of blood vessel disorders in the brain, brain tumors, metabolic disorders, deficiencies in certain vitamins, to poisoning of some chemicals to alco**hol.
In addition, age and some diseases, such as diabetes, cholesterol, hypertension, to obesity are also at risk of causing dementia. So, what causes Alzheimer’s? The deposition of proteins in the brain can cause Alzheimer’s. This can result in barriers to nutrient intake to the brain, so that brain cells are damaged.
Damage to the brain is what triggers a decrease in memory. The insurmountable brain damage becomes a dangerous condition because it can result in the brain becoming dead. There are several factors that increase this risk, such as age, having a history of head injuries, having Down syndrome, and the presence of genetic factors.
A less healthy lifestyle can be at risk of increasing both of these diseases, for that do a healthy lifestyle by regularly exercising, the consumption of healthy and nutritious foods, meeting rest needs, to avoid smo**king.
How does Alzheimer’s damage the brain?
Our brains are comprised of billions of nerve cells. Each nerve cell connects with other nerve cells and communicates with each other by conveying signals. Each part of the brain has a different but interconnected task.
In the brain of a person with Alzheimer’s, there is a buildup of abnormal substances that cause the disruption of the signaling system between one nerve cell and another. Furthermore, the nerve cells become corrupted. Damage to these nerve cells causes the decline in the production of several important chemical substances in the brain that function for inter-cell communication of nerves, known by the neurotransmitter.
The decline of some of these neurotransmitters eventually causes nerve cells to no longer transmit the signal properly, and result in disruption to the person’s brain function.
How does dementia occur?
Symptoms of dementia occur when the part of the brain associated with the learning process, memory, decision-making, and language experiences impaired or infected. Usually, it is prone to occur in elderly aged over 60 years.
See how parents are identical to senile? Yes, it is one of the early symptoms of dementia. They are experiencing difficulties in tracking time, and familiar things that are commonly done every day.
When it worse, people with dementia can no longer recognize others. They are also easy to feel confused.
For example, often asking the same thing repeatedly, unable to maintain self-hygiene, and often fails to make a decision.
As mentioned above, Alzheimer contributes to the largest portion of the occurrence of dementia. However, there are several other contributing factors, such as:
- Degenerative nerve diseases (Parkinson, Huntington, Lewy Body, Alzheimer’s, Creutzfeldt-Jakob)
- HIV infection
- Depression
- Stroke
- Chronic drug use
- Certain types of hydrocephalus with fluid buildup in the brain.
Thank you very much for reading Dementia Vs Alzheimer: Difference, and Symptoms, hopefully useful.
