There has been a lot of confusion between this two medical-related mental conditions. Patients often find it difficult to differentiate dementia vs Alzheimer’s based on the signs and symptoms present. Is one of the most misdiagnosed conditions in the medical world in most developed countries.
Alzheimer is the most common form of dementia, and unfortunately an incurable degenerative disease that is caused by the death of neurons in the brain. The neuronal cell death could alter the cognitive and behavioral function of the body .it could present in different ways such as memory loss, forgetting dates, address, and names of loved ones. Alzheimer diseases are often diagnosed by the presence or absence of cardiac biomarkers in the blood.
Dementia often affects about 40 percent of geriatrics above 90 years compared to the lower percentage of 4 -5 percent in people than 60 years. Alzheimer is a form of dementia and classified under dementia. It is a dangerous disease because the problem often started 10- 20 years before the manifestation of the symptoms. The signs and symptoms manifested by Alzheimer’s disease depend on the stage of the medical condition. In the early stage of this condition, patients often experience mental confusion, difficulty selecting the right words, incoherent speeches, and loss of time and place. During the later stage of the diseases, the patient starts forgetting faces of loved ones, addresses, events, and even necessary things such as how to get to their home.
One of the most significant hallmarks of this diseases is when a patient fails to recognize loved ones, they have spent a lot of time with, especially their immediate family members. This could be short term or in the form of absent dementia, when the patient forgets things for a short period, and remember some minutes or hours later.
The primary etiology of this disease is due to accumulation of an abnormal hyperphosphorylated protein called associated tubule unit (TAU) proteins.
Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Diseases
Alzheimer’s disease is often diagnosed by performing imaging studies, cognitive and neurological assessments.testing for abnormal protein and biomarkers.
The most effective way for diagnosing Alzheimer‘s disease includes:
- Amyloid Brain Imaging: This is a type of procedure done for detecting the presence of abnormal amyloid protein deposits in the brain. It is performed by in vivo injection of radioactive tracers into the blood of the patient. The detection of the abnormal protein helps to rule out other diseases. Accumulation of abnormal hyperphosphorylated TAU protein is pathognomic for Alzheimer’s
- Csf Markers: detection of abnormal levels of protein in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is critical for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease. The cerebrospinal fluid is a fluid present in the brain meninges and helps in protective and supportive function of the It is vital to test for the presence of antibodies of abnormal alteration of body proteins and enzymes in this fluid because it indicates the activity level of the brain.The chemical components of the cerebrospinal fluid is a function of the activities and process going on in the brain. In Alzheimer’s diseases, there is an alteration in the level of amyloids and tubule associated units (TAU) proteins. Alzheimer’s patient, the cerebrospinal fluid often reveals four type od proteins two forms of amyloid (Aβ1-42 and Aβ1-40) proteins and two forms of Tau (Total Tau and phospho-Tau) proteins. This disease is often characterized by abnormally low amyloid (Aβ1-42 and Aβ1-40) proteins contrary to the drastically increased tau proteins. The surprising fact about this condition is that amyloid (Aβ1-42 ) starts to fall, even before the manifestation of the first Alzheimer symptom. The CSF fluid marker test is often preferred to the amyloid brain imaging because of its cheap cost and easy accessibility. It is cheaper, and patients can perform this procedure at the nearest medical center close to them. One of the most tedious moments in life is traveling a far distance to diagnosing an Alzheimer patient, especially when they are loved ones and you hate to see them suffer or in pains.
Dementia is general medical terminology for any mental condition that is severe enough to affect day to day activities of an individual. Dementia-like Alzheimer is not a specific diseases, it is brand medical terminology for and mental or cognitive impairment that affect the day to day performance and efficiency of an individual, memory loss, Alzheimer’s diseases and other medical conditions are forms of dementia.
The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer ‘s disease, while vascular dementia, which is a disease caused by stroke or abnormalities within the blood vessels is the second most common form of dementia. Dementia can also be caused by other medical conditions such as thyroid diseases and vitamin deficiencies.
There is a wrong myth, that cognitive function declines with age. This is the reason why dementia is often referred to as senile dementia by some practitioners. However, this is a wrong fact, because it has been discovered that dementia can be caused by other factors even in young people and not just age-related.
Signs and Symptoms of Dementia
The signs and symptoms of dementia vary depending on the etiology, age, and underlying disease present. However, because it is a neuronal and cognitive problem, there are some common generalized symptoms and signs of dementia irrespective of their etiologies. These signs and symptoms include:
- Visual perception
- Memory and cognitive impairment
- Language and communication impairment
- Inability to concentrate and focus for prolonged period
- Problems with reasoning and judgment
However, there are other causes of memory loss, which are not related to Alzheimer or dementia, the best way to diagnose the etiology of memory loss is to contact your doctor or medical practitioner. People with dementia often experience problems with their day to day activities such as keep track of appointments, events, promises, purse, wallet, and travel plans. It is not diagnosed dementia if it isn’t affecting typical day to day activities of the individual.
The significant difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is that dementia is a general name for any mental condition severe enough to alter and affect your everyday activities, while Alzheimer is a form of dementia. If you experience memory loss or any other signs and symptoms of cognitive problems. Contact your nearest doctor.
Reference
Agnosia in Alzheimer Disease. (1997). Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders, 11(3), p.180.
BRUNK, D. (2008). No Links Found Between Statin Use and Memory Loss. Internal Medicine News, 41(12), p.13.
Chui, H. (1996). Alzheimer Disease. Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders, 10(1), p.53.
Powell, A. (2002). On Issues Pertinent to Alzheimer Disease and Cultural Diversity. Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders, 16, pp.S43-S45.
