Alzheimer’s vs. Dementia: Differences and Takeaways

It is common for people to wonder about the difference between Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia. With World Alzheimer’s Day approaching on September 21st, let’s take a minute to learn about the differences.

Dementia is an overall term to describe a group of symptoms. These typically include difficulties with memory, language, problem solving and other thinking skills and represent a decline in abilities that is severe enough to interfere with daily life. Although common, dementia is not a normal part of aging and is caused by damage to brain cells. There are different types of dementia and many conditions that cause these changes in the brain. Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for 60-80% of cases.

Alzheimer’s is a specific brain disease. With this degenerative disease, cell damage causes brain changes and cells lose their ability to do their jobs and eventually die, causing irreversible changes in the brain. With Alzheimer’s, dementia symptoms gradually worsen over time. What may begin as trouble remembering new information can lead to disorientation, personality and behavior changes, challenges carrying out daily activities and eventually problems walking, speaking or swallowing. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 6.7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s and this number is projected to grow to 13 million by 2050.

Please consider joining or donating to Lumia Mequon’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s team to help in the fight to end Alzheimer’s. The Walk aims to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research.

Click HERE to donate!

Together we can #endalz!

To stay informed about future events like Lumia’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s, consider following Lumia’s Facebook and Instagram pages!