Dementia means someone is unable to complete important everyday tasks, like chores or bathing or eating, on their own.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. It involves the toxic accumulation of abnormal proteins in the brain over time, which leads to the widespread death of brain cells, compromising memory and other cognitive abilities.
Alzheimer’s disease can lead to dementia, but there are other disease processes that can cause someone to become functionally dependent on others (like Parkinson’s disease).
While it can be apparent when someone has progressed to the stage of dementia and needs substantial support, it is not always clear what is happening in the brain to cause dementia. This is because many neurodegenerative diseases share the same symptoms (like memory loss), and we cannot easily see what is going on inside a living brain. However, we are getting better at doing just that through novel neuroimaging approaches, such as florbetapir PET scans for detecting Alzheimer’s pathology during life, and other medical advances.
Cat_of_Schroedinger t1_j29oesf wrote
Reply to ELI5: Alzheimer's is dementia, but not all dementia is Alzheimer's. So what is the difference? by degobrah
Dementia means someone is unable to complete important everyday tasks, like chores or bathing or eating, on their own.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. It involves the toxic accumulation of abnormal proteins in the brain over time, which leads to the widespread death of brain cells, compromising memory and other cognitive abilities.
Alzheimer’s disease can lead to dementia, but there are other disease processes that can cause someone to become functionally dependent on others (like Parkinson’s disease).
While it can be apparent when someone has progressed to the stage of dementia and needs substantial support, it is not always clear what is happening in the brain to cause dementia. This is because many neurodegenerative diseases share the same symptoms (like memory loss), and we cannot easily see what is going on inside a living brain. However, we are getting better at doing just that through novel neuroimaging approaches, such as florbetapir PET scans for detecting Alzheimer’s pathology during life, and other medical advances.
Source: am working in neurodegenerative research