Status: 13.01.2024, 17:16 PM
By: Natalie Hull-Deichsel
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Dementia and Alzheimer's are often mentioned in the same breath. Basically, both are diseases of the brain – but with different causes.
Originating in Latin, the word dementia means "away from the mind" or "without mind" and describes the immediate loss of mental capacity that the disease entails. Dementia is a disease that can affect basically anyone and therefore triggers fear in many. With increasing age, the risk of developing dementia increases. There are various signs and indications of possible dementia that both sufferers and their relatives should pay attention to. As a rule, the doctor uses certain tests for diagnosis, such as the mini-mental status test and the clock test – although those affected can also carry out this form of testing at home in advance under the guidance of relatives.
Anyone who suspects that they have or will become demented themselves or that a relative may be ill should definitely seek medical advice. Only a doctor can determine whether dementia or possibly Alzheimer's is present with the help of appropriate diagnostics. But what is the difference between the two diseases?
Dementia is not a specific disease
In dementia, neuronal changes in the brain lead to memory gaps and impaired thinking abilities – the cause behind this depends on the form of dementia. © Andrew/Brookes/Imago
Dementia is not a specific disease, but rather an umbrella term for different forms and symptoms of a neurological disorder of the brain, according to the Alzheimer's Association. According to the Alzheimer Initiative e.V., "dementia" stands for more than 50 diseases that impair the function of the brain.
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Generally speaking, dementia is a decline in memory or other thinking skills. The disorder usually develops insidiously and brings changes not only in the lives of those affected, but also in their social environment, especially among their relatives. Symptoms such as depressed moods, mild irritability, sleep disturbances, and signs of exhaustion can often become apparent even before diagnosis. Such restrictions have an impact on partnerships and family life. Early signs of the disease can also include listlessness and general fatigue. As a rule, people suffering from dementia have increasing difficulty orienting themselves in both familiar and unfamiliar surroundings.
What forms of dementia are there?
About 80 percent of primary dementias are caused by altered or destroyed nerve cells in the brain. These include:
Alzheimer's
Vascular Dementia
Frontotemporal Dementia
Parkinson's Dementia
Lewy Body Dementia
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Korsakoff Syndrome
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)
Secondary forms of dementia can arise due to underlying diseases such as hypothyroidism, vitamin D deficiency or depression. Depression can increase the risk of dementia by about six times, according to the Dementia Guide.
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Alzheimer's: the most common form of dementia
Alzheimer's disease is the most common and well-known form of dementia, affecting around 60 to 80 percent of those affected. Similar to Lewy body dementia, Parkinson's dementia and frontotemporal dementia, protein deposits or disorders in the brain play a decisive role in Alzheimer's disease, which leads to neurological deficits and associated symptoms. Two protein deposits play a role in Alzheimer's disease: beta-amyloid plaques and fibrils.
Although we don't yet know the cause of Alzheimer's disease, we know pretty much exactly how the pathological mechanism works in the brain. Different proteins are produced in different cells – in Alzheimer's disease, a protein that can no longer be removed from the cell. As a result, this cell increasingly loses function and eventually perishes. This results in characteristic changes, the so-called Alzheimer's fibrils or plaques, which later come together to form larger protein-protein complexes and can then be detected in the brain – even from the deceased.
Dr. Michael Lorrain, Neurologist, Alzheimer Initiative e. V.
In addition to Alzheimer's, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia and frontotemporal dementia are the most common dementias and differ from Alzheimer's disease in part in their symptoms and progression, the Alzheimer Initiative e.V. further explains.
Unlike the majority of forms of dementia, vascular dementia is due to circulatory disorders that can occur after a stroke or several small strokes.
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. It is in no way a substitute for a visit to the doctor. Individual questions about clinical pictures may not be answered by our editorial team.