Understanding Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease

Cause and Effect

This is a question I have wondered about for quite some time now. I decided it was time to figure out just what the difference was. My wife's grandmother is in an assisted living facility and we have noticed several discrepancies in things she says and does. Obviously, she is in her late eighties, this is going to be early stages of dementia. I can say that with almost 100% certainty, since I know Alzheimer's Disease tends to appear earlier in life than does dementia. Her grandmother has also has skin cancer, which has spread to other areas of her body. I do have to clarify one thing about Alheimer's, it is a form of dementia itself.

Dementia, by definition, refers to cognitive malfunctions due to brain stresses, trauma or disease. There are two types of dementia, reversible and irreversible. Reversible means it has the possibility of healing through treatments and how quickly it is treated. Irreversible, obviously, is caused by a disease without any cure. A disease like Alzheimer's is an example of irreversible dementia. Alzheimer's Disease is a common form of dementia that seriously impairs a person's ability to continue with their daily activities.

Dr. Alois Alzheimer stumbled across a person that died of a mysterious illness in 1906. After the autopsy, Dr. Alzheimer discovered several lumps that were out of the ordinary, called amyloid plaques, and fibrous tissue bundled together, called neurofibrillary tangles. These plaques and tangles are what doctors look for today, which tend to provide early signs of Alzheimer's Disease. They have no single idea what causes Alzheimer's Disease. They believe Alzheimer's Disease is caused by numerous other factors together, but continue to look for more answers. On the flip side, several causes of dementia are known. The most common is age, the rest are substance abuse, gene inheritance, diseases, brain tumors, cardiovascular disease, head injuries, vitamin deficiencies, and organ failure.