Currently, with all the advances that we have had in society, the life expectancy of people, although also diseases that appear at older ages, one of the most frequent being dementia. Much is said about what is Alzheimer's and senile dementia, both are part of the so-called diseases neurological diseases that are degenerative and irreversible, since the loss of the organ functions of the affected person cannot regenerate. That is why we usually confuse both concepts and many doubts and confusion arise in us when we want to be clear about what their differences really are. In this Psychology-Online article on the difference between Alzheimer's and senile dementia, we are going to know in detail both concepts to finally describe what their differences are.
Index
- Senile dementia: symptoms and causes
- Alzheimer's: symptoms and causes
- Difference between Alzheimer's and senile dementia
Senile dementia: symptoms and causes.
Senile dementia is not considered as a disease in itself, rather it refers to the
This situation causes the person to no longer be able to independently carry out their daily activities and begins to depend on other people to do so. People with senile dementia cannot carry out their basic needs like eating, showering, dressing, etc. His short and long-term memory is severely damaged and he is unable to acquire new knowledge and / or remember situations that he has experienced in the past. They present a marked and evident loss of reality, so their perception of it is totally wrong (they can walk for hours without any direction or carry out meaningless actions that being in their five senses they would never perform, such as undressing in front of other people, among others things).
Senile dementia can be caused by many diseases, some of them are the following:
- Alzheimer's.
- Huntington's disease.
- Parkinson's disease.
- Multiple sclerosis.
- Lewy body disease.
- Brain injuries.
- Progressive supranuclear palsy, among others.
Alzheimer's: symptoms and causes.
Alzheimer's is a neurodegenerative disease that is caused by pathological changes in the brain that are progressively deteriorating the neurons of the person who suffers it. This disease does not present symptoms for many years because our brain is responsible for compensating the alterations that he undergoes, however, the moment comes when he cannot take it anymore and the deterioration begins to become evident cognitive. For example, the person with Alzheimer's may start out with frequent memory problems that eventually lead to dementia. There is no cure for this type of disease, although there are effective treatments that help delay its development. This type of pathology can appear at younger ages and as it progresses, its symptoms become more and more serious, to the level that the person is losing their independence completely and, on some occasions, can be a direct cause of death.
The causes of Alzheimer's disease are really unknown, however, it has been found that there are some risk factors that can influence the appearance of this type of suffering. Among the main risk factor's, are the following:
- Family background. The chances of developing this type of condition increase when you have a first-degree relative, such as parents or siblings, who suffer from it.
- Age. Another risk factor for this disease is the age of the person, since the older the person, the more likely it is to develop. The risk increases considerably after age 65. In very rare cases, this disease could begin at a very young age and if this happens, its symptoms begin to be noticed at age 30.
- Sex. It has been found that, probably because of their longer life expectancy, women are more likely to develop Alzheimer's than men.
- Head trauma Having suffered a severe head injury in the past increases the chances of developing this type of condition.
- Cognitive impairment. Presenting a mild cognitive impairment, that is, that people have some cognitive problems and memory not typical of their age increases the risk of developing this type of disease in the future.
Difference between Alzheimer's and senile dementia.
These are the main differences between Alzheimer's and senile dementia that make it clear that these are two totally different conditions, but that nonetheless are not unrelated:
- Alzheimer's is considered a disease and senile dementia is not.
- Alzheimer's degenerates both the capacities of the person until it causes death and senile dementia is not a direct cause of death.
- The causes of Alzheimer's are unknown, however, in the case of senile dementia, as we have already seen, other diseases such as Alzheimer's itself, for example, can be caused.
- Alzheimer's is a disease that has no cure, however, in some cases of senile dementia, depending on the cause of the disease that causes it, the person can improve.
- The life expectancy of a person with Alzheimer's is reduced to approximately 10 years, however, that of a person with senile dementia is not affected by this deterioration.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Difference between Alzheimer's and senile dementia, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.
