As many as 6.8 million people in the United States have dementia, and at least 1.8 million of those are severely affected, according to the U. S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment. However, the word "Dementia" is an umbrella term that describes specific types of dementia.
Caregivers and their elderly parents have many questions and concerns about dementia, so it is important to understand the different types of dementia how they affect the elderly.
Dementing disorders can be classified in many different ways. These classifications are used to group disorders that have some features in common, such as whether they are progressive or what parts of the brain are affected. Some frequently used classifications include the following:
Cortical dementia - the brain damage primarily affects the brain's cortex, or outer layer. Cortical dementias tend to cause problems with memory, language, thinking, and social behavior.
Subcortical dementia - affects parts of the brain below the cortex. Subcortical dementia tends to cause changes in emotions and movement in addition to problems with memory.
Progressive dementia - gets worse over time, gradually interfering with more and more cognitive abilities.
Primary dementia - dementia such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) that does not result from any other disease. Secondary dementia - occurs as a result of a physical disease or injury.