What is the difference between Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia?

youre right reba, thats my dad , dementia . can not do things for himself . my mil she has alz and can dress and walk and do things for herself but forgetin whats cookin inthe kitchen , put coffe ground in where the waters suppose be at , all a mess .
oh food we eat and air we breath in is all no good . everythings bad for you . even coffee .
think i;ll go have me a beer .. :-)

Hahahah have one for me too. I don't drink. But don't you have too many.

Let's define "dementia" and "Alzheimer's":
What is Dementia?

• Dementia is defined as “a brain impairment which affects intellectual functioning, memory and at least one of the following: abstract thinking, judgment and language; identification of people and objects; personality changes and ability to use objects appropriately.”

• It is a syndrome or group of symptoms caused by 102 different diseases

• There are about 70 irreversible and progressive types of dementia, ultimately leading to death

• The most common cause of irreversible dementia is Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer's Disease is a TYPE of dementia.

• Dementia affects every part of the brain— it is a “global impairment”

• Of all individuals suffering from dementia, approximately 70% have Alzheimer’s Disease or Alzheimer’s Disease coupled with another dementing illness (For example, Lewy Body Disease, Multi- Infarct dementia, Vascular Dementia, etc.)

- 15% of people with dementia have Multi-Infarct/Vascular Dementia without Alzheimer’s Disease
- 5% have Lewy Body Disease without Alzheimer’s Disease
- The remaining 10% have dementia caused by other very rare diseases


What is Alzheimer's Disease?
The MOST COMMON type of dementia. The occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease is most common among the very old.

• Current estimates indicate that:
- 3% of people age 65-74 have the disease
- 19% of those 75-84 have the disease
- 47% of those 85+ have the disease

• In the brain affected by Alzheimer’s Disease:
- Communication signals between brain cells diminish
- Metabolism is impaired as tangles develop inside the brain
- Repair is disabled as plaques develops in the arteries
- Plaques and tangles produce mistakes throughout the brain eventually resulting in cell death

So, you see, "dementia" is the brain disease and Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. People who have Alzheimer's do indeed have dementia.

Because we are all individuals, we respond differently when we have Alzheimer's disease. The same can be said for people that have any of the forms of dementia (such as vascular dementia, etc.). Some may have a catastrophic response, be scared, have much difficulty remembering things, act abnormally, demonstrate unusual behaviors...and others will respond more "mildly", without such behaviors. The good news is, there are some things that can help.

While what you say is true about dementia, it presents in a myriad of ways. Right now my mom can carry on a conversation, know what all her grandchildren are doing, whether it's work or school, and be current on world news. Yet, she won't bathe often, uses depends and won't change often, can sit and say nothing for hours and wants to fire all her caregivers. She also believes that she and my dad have been in the FBI!

She hasn't wandered yet, but no one knows exactly how quickly that or anything else can happen.

My dad, who was pretty with it just a few weeks ago, fell and now has some dementia symptoms as well--forgetting, demanding. With 2 parents with dementia, this is getting super difficult. We are still looking for the appropriate setting for them.

If anyone has experience a situation like this, please add anything you can. Thanks

Well I guess that is about what I have been saying all along. My husband fell down the steps - now he has Alzheimer's. - any disease that does damage to the brain comes under the heading of dementia. It depends on how bad the brain has been damaged or how much damage has been caused by any brain disease. It is that simple

LHardebeck: You are doing fine. Just hang in there, OK? Now you must read to him like a todler, turning the pages and commenting on all the pictures, one page at a time. Keep those magazines in front of him. Does he have a tray where he eats and reads? I'm glad that he likes Patsy Cline.
Norene

dad eats at the table , no we dont have any tray . today mail came and he got a cmas card from his stepdaughter , he claims he dont know who she is , i read the card to him and gave it to him and put on his reading glasses , he stare at the card for a while then put it down but left his reading glasses on .
then took it off at the table so he could eat , then he put his reading glasses back on and went to watch tv ,
i went out with my girlfriend this evening , its her bday . came home 4 hrs later he s sleepin in recliner with his glasses on . i had to giggle cuz he normaly wont wear them unless he s reading .
my husband said he slept the whole time i was gone .
bless his heart he looks so comfetable with glasses on ...
all these years dad only shows interst in newspaper , never see him with any magz , i bought newspaper he would only look at the front page , big picture , big headline . then hes done . then i would go thru it and tell him whats happening .
he just loves to sleep , pasty cline and tv or bye bye ,
too cold to take him out but i think i will take him out tmr. treat him wendys , he loves wendys chilli and frosty and just go for a ride.
i know it felt good when i went out with my gfriend , oh it felt good , then i thought i shall take dad out tmr . beat that cabin fever !

lhardebeck, Sounds like a good idea. Wish I could go with you. Our pastor is coming for a visit tomorrow. So maybe we will go out for dinner. Ed doesn't eat much anymore and I wonder about that. What do you do when they will not eat at all. Well when that happens I will call the doctor.

So glad I have my sister to come and stay with me. That gives me a chance to get out. I still work in our company and I love it that I can still do that. It is a break from being here. Only a couple of 1/2 days a week. But sometimes I need more. Take care and enjoy your day. ;O)

when dad doesnt eat i get out apple juice or orange juice and let him drink it out of a straw .
here lately he s been eating yougurt , its good for him , dr says it puts in a good bactriea in him to flush out the bad bacteria out .
sometimes i feed him icecream .
just as long as he has something in his stomach . dad has noproblem eating cuz he likes to eat hahaha . but there s some days he dont want to eat .
man he sure sleeps alot . i think its the meds , he seems cant to stay awake anymore . :-(