Dementia and Alzheimer’s are not the same thing. Dementia is a general term for a decline in cognitive abilities that include memory loss and thinking difficulties. Alzheimer’s is a disease that affects the brain and causes dementia. Alzheimer’s is only one of many types of dementia — each with their own cause.
Between 60% and 80% of people living with dementia in the UK have Alzheimer’s disease. This can lead people to assume that all people with dementia have Alzheimer’s or that they’re one and the same.
Understanding Dementia
Dementia is a term for a decline in cognitive abilities that takes place in a person’s brain — with symptoms usually including changes to memory, behaviour and the ability to carry out everyday tasks.
There are different types of dementia, which each have their own specific symptoms. Vascular dementia, for example, is characterised by slowness of thought. Lewy-body dementia tends to cause more severe difficulty with movement.
Dementia is caused by damage to the cells in the brain. There is no cure for dementia, but there are treatments that can help with the symptoms.
Understanding Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease is a specific brain disease that causes dementia. It is the most common cause of dementia globally and in the UK. The difference between Alzheimer’s and dementia is that Alzheimer’s is one of multiple diseases that leads to dementia.
Alzheimer’s is a degenerative condition, which means it gets worse as time goes on. An early symptom of Alzheimer’s is difficulty with short-term memory. Over time, there are a wider number of more severe symptoms, such as losing the ability to swallow, speak and move around easily. You can find out everything you need to know about Alzheimer’s from our Complete Guide to Alzheimer’s.
