Frequently Asked Questions
Some common questions and answers about dementia.
They are related in that Alzheimer’s is the name of the disease, and dementia is a symptom of it. Think of the disease osteoarthritis. Pain is a symptom. Pain can be caused by many things though, such as related diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, and completely different things, like migraines. Alzheimer’s is the disease and dementia (a loss of intellectual functions like reasoning, judgment and memory) is the symptom. But dementia can be caused by related conditions (such as Vascular Dementia, Lewy Body Dementia or Fronto-temporal disease) or by unrelated conditions, such as: Korsakoff’s syndrome from long-term alcohol use; or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy from frequent concussions. Alzheimer’s also causes functional losses and eventually death. Bottom line: Alzheimer’s is a disease and dementia/cognitive loss is a symptom.
