Many people wonder what the difference is between dementia and Alzheimer’s – assuming that they are two different diseases. However, Alzheimer’s is actually a form of dementia, as are vascular dementia and Lewy body dementia, for example. The question should therefore actually be how Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia differ from each other.
Difference: Alzheimer’s & vascular dementia
Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia are the two most common forms of dementia. The most important differences between the two relate to the onset and progression of the disease: Alzheimer’s dementia begins gradually and the symptoms increase slowly. Vascular dementia, on the other hand, usually begins suddenly; the symptoms often increase abruptly, but sometimes also gradually and slowly as with Alzheimer’s.
Further differences:
- As far as gender distribution is concerned, there is no definite difference in Alzheimer’s disease. In contrast, vascular dementia occurs more frequently in men.
- Patients with vascular dementia often have a history of strokes, whereas Alzheimer’s patients usually do not.
- Paralysis and numbness are common in vascular dementia, whereas they are usually absent in Alzheimer’s dementia.
The two forms of dementia often mix
Difference: Alzheimer’s & frontotemporal dementia
There are both similarities and differences between Alzheimer’s dementia and frontotemporal dementia. Some examples:
- While Alzheimer’s usually occurs from the 7th decade of life, frontotemporal dementia often manifests itself earlier (in the 5th to 7th decade).
- On average, the progression of frontotemporal dementia is somewhat faster than that of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Alzheimer’s disease rarely runs in families, whereas frontotemporal dementia is common (in around 50 percent of cases).
- The characteristic feature of Alzheimer’s is a memory impairment. In frontotemporal dementia, however, this develops relatively rarely. Here, other symptoms such as “neglect” and a lack of personal hygiene are in the foreground. In Alzheimer’s, however, personality changes usually only become clearly recognizable at a late stage.
- Frontotemporal dementia is very often accompanied by reduced drive, euphoria/disinhibition and a lack of insight into the illness. Such symptoms are rare in Alzheimer’s disease.
- Disorders of facial recognition, speech and language as well as incontinence usually occur late in Alzheimer’s disease and early in frontotemporal dementia.
- Movements and actions are already impaired in the early stages of Alzheimer’s dementia. Frontotemporal dementia is only rarely accompanied by such apraxia.
Difference: Alzheimer’s & dementia with Lewy bodies
Alzheimer’s dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies are also similar in many ways, which is why the latter was not considered a separate disease for a long time. It is now recognized as such, as there are also differences between Alzheimer’s & dementia with Lewy bodies. The most important are
- The condition of Alzheimer’s patients deteriorates slowly and more or less steadily. In contrast, the progression of Lewy body dementia is often fluctuating, especially in terms of alertness.
- Memory impairment occurs early in Alzheimer’s disease, but often late in Lewy body dementia.
- Visual hallucinations, which occur very frequently and early in Lewy body dementia, are rarely early symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease.
- Lewy body dementia is often and early associated with Parkinson’s symptoms (especially rigor). In Alzheimer’s, such symptoms only occur in later stages, if at all. Other neurological symptoms are also rare here. People with Lewy body dementia, on the other hand, suffer from repeated loss of consciousness and sleep disturbances (including actual action of dream content).
In practice, however, the difference between Alzheimer’s and dementia of the Lewy body type is not always so clear. A variant of Alzheimer’s has now been discovered in which not only Alzheimer’s plaques but also Lewy bodies form in the brain. The symptoms can then overlap.
