Alzheimer’s disease has been classified as a distinct disease and type of memory loss.

Alzheimer's Disease differs from other dementia due to confusion and loss of memory around Person, Place, and Time.

  • Activities should be centered around understanding the person may not remember events and people from their earlier years

DEFINITION OF DEMENTIA

The loss of intellectual functions (such as thinking, remembering, reasoning, and language) severe enough to interfere with a person’s daily life. Dementia is not a disease in itself, but a group of symptoms that may accompany certain diseases or physical conditions.

In this video, Dr. Natali Edmonds, Board Certified Geropsychologist of Careblazers explains the difference between Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia. A geropsychologist specializes in the branch of psychology concerning mental health disorders, depression, anxiety, and age-related illnesses for older adults.

Causes of Dementia:

  • Alzheimer’s Disease: The most common cause of dementia, which is a degenerative disease that begins gradually then progresses and attacks the brain resulting in impaired memory, thinking and behavior. Confusion of Person, Place and Time.

  • Multi-Infarct Dementia: Deterioration of mental capacity caused by multiple mini-strokes or one large stroke.

  • Parkinson’s Disease: A progressive disorder of the central nervous system impacting brain cells that produce dopamine, which controls muscle activity, deteriorating. It is characterized by tremors, stiffness in joints and speech difficulties.

  • Huntington’s Disease: An inherited degenerative disease, causing physical and mental disabilities which begins in mid-life and results in involuntary facial muscles and limb movement, slurred speech, impaired judgment.

  • Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: Fatal brain disorder causing rapid, progressive dementia and neuromuscular disturbances, caused by a transmissible agent.

  • Pick’s Disease: A rare brain disorder; shrinkage of tissues in the frontal and temporal lobes and abnormal bodies in the nerve cells of affected areas of the brain.

  • Lewy Body Disease: Abnormal protein deposits in the brain with hallucinations and paranoia are common in early stages with drastic behavioral changes.

  • Frontal-Lobe Dementia or FLD: Personality changes, disregard for the feelings of others, expressionless faces, or they may go to the opposite extreme and laugh when such behavior is inappropriate. Total disregard for others which drives negative behaviors such as stealing and loss of inhibition.

  • Frontotemporal Dementia or FTD: Progressive and degenerative condition causing language problems, personality changes, and memory loss and one unique factor is a preoccupation with a fear of serious illness. May become convinced they have cancer or another serious illness and will display no symptoms at all of the diseases while obsessively thinking and talking about the nonexistent disease.

  • Other: Physical conditions may cause or mimic dementia: head injuries, infections, drug reactions, thyroid problems, nutritional deficiencies.

DEFINITION OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

More than 100 years ago, Alzheimer's disease was identified by Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German Neuropsychiatrist.

Dr. Alzheimer had a female patient in her 50’s who was having difficulty with her memory, trouble talking and visual spacing. She was becoming disoriented. Nobody knew how to help her. When she died, Dr. Alzheimer performed an autopsy on her brain.

He discovered:

  • Atrophy

  • Amyloid Plaques

  • Neurofibrillary Tangles

The discovery of these 3 items together are the keystones of Alzheimer’s disease.

Fast forward to now.

Little progress has been made in Alzheimer’s Disease research and prevention because little money has been provided for research as compared to other diseases and it was not until the 1970’s that some doctors began to try to diagnose the type of memory loss, rather than classifying all memory loss as simply “hardening of the arteries,” or atherosclerosis, which means that fat deposits have built upon the inside of a person’s blood vessels, or arteries, causing the arteries to narrow and making it more difficult for blood to flow throughout the body easily. Arteries carry oxygenated blood from the heart to other parts of the body.

Cancer and heart disease have received more than $1 billion each for research from the U.S. government.

In December 2015, the U.S. Congress included in a budget vote to provide $350 million towards Alzheimer’s Disease research to find better treatments and a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.

NO CURE EXISTS for Alzheimer’s disease. Part of the training for caregiving involves understanding that more help is needed to find a cure for this disease. Over the last 100 years, as compared with research on other medical conditions, very little has been done.

NEUROLOGY LESSON TO UNDERSTAND ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

  • Nerve cells tangle up and die

  • Plaques (also can be called “blocks”) form from protein buildup in the brain

  • Chemicals lacking in the brain cause information to not be connected properly

People with Alzheimer’s disease have “Tangles” or plaque in their brain but NOT EVERYONE WITH this PLAQUE GETS THE DISEASE.

What we know about Alzheimer’s Disease:

  • Progressive Disease: This means it continues to get worse and just like some people can progress up a mountain climb at one rate, while others will zig and zag on their climb up, the same is true with how this disease progresses.

  • Advances at Wildly Different Rates: The duration of the illness may often vary from 3 to 20 years. The areas of the brain that control memory and thinking skills are impacted first and eventually, the disease will cause a person to forget to swallow, for instance, because the brain is not functioning properly and sending out the right signals.

  • Personality Changes: A specific part of this disease is the way that a person’s personality can change causing them to experience anxiety, suspiciousness, agitation, and delusions and relating to individuals in the opposite way than they ever have in the past.

 

Watch Video on the 10 Signs of Alzheimer’s from Illinois Alzheimer’s Chapter:

Is the change in memory a “Sure Thing” as we age?

Watch Video from Trinity College of Dublin:

As a caregiver, you have a unique perspective and bring a fresh set of eyes and ears. You can be a valuable asset to the family and help recognize signs of dementia.

💡 Tip Sheet

Alzheimer’s Disease symptoms involve forgetting Person, Place and Time, Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease, A Doctor Identified Alzheimer’s Disease more than 100 Years Ago, Neurology Lesson: Nerve Cells Tangle up and Die, Plaques Form, Chemicals that are Lacking in the Brain Don’t Process Information Properly, Alzheimer’s Disease Advances at Wildly Different Rates and Is called a Progressive Disease Because of This