Alzheimer's Or Dementia? Can You Tell the Difference?

Is it Alzheimer's Or Dementia? How Can You Tell the Difference?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Gwen_Sherwood]Gwen Sherwood

Do you know the difference between dementia and Alzheimer's disease? These terms may be the most confusing in the area of mental decline in America today. There are differences between the two. As you read, you will learn these differences. You will also see that you can take steps to possibly delay or even do away with the onset of both Alzheimer's and dementia!

Some call dementia a disease. Others think of it as a disorder. Then there are those who refer to dementia as a syndrome. A syndrome is a set of signs and symptoms. However, everyone seems to agree that someone with dementia has a certain set of indicators that show how their brain works.

Dementia affects a person's memory, thinking, and reasoning skills. Dementia comes on very slowly, little by little. The typical diagnosis occurs later in life, in a person's 60's or 70's.

The American Medical Association lists symptoms of dementia as follows:

- Memory impairment
- Increased language difficulties
- Decreased motor skills
- Failure to recognize or identify objects
- Disturbance of the ability to plan or think abstractly

Dementia signs include the following:

- Inability to remember recent events
- Inability to think or speak clearly, pauses in speech
- Trouble with balance or muscle weakness
- Trouble learning new things, such as a new kitchen appliance
- Repeating the same thing over and over
- Shying away from social situations where they weren't shy before

The more often and extreme the occurrences in the signs above shows how severe the loss of brain function is. It will be harder for people with dementia to take care of themselves over time.

Alzheimer's disease is a form of dementia. The main trait is the steady loss of a number of vital mental abilities. Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia in older people. The hallmark of Alzheimer's disease is memory loss.

The memory loss involved with Alzheimer's disease is very severe and serious. If you have Alzheimer's disease, you may not remember the names of your children. You may not remember where you've lived for the last decade or two.

You notice Alzheimer's disease much earlier than dementia. Alzheimer's can begin as early as age 45. As revealed earlier, dementia diagnoses usually occur after age 60.

Typically, the symptoms of dementia will take decades to develop. This is why it generally goes unnoticed. Cognitive decline can start as early as age 35. We compensate by filling in the blanks with a lifetime of experiences.

If not due to genetics, research has shown that you can delay cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. You can reverse it if you catch it early enough. There is even the possibility of eliminating this fate altogether through brain training. Lifestyle factors also come into play, like diet and exercise. The important thing is that you are in control of your future.

I encourage you to investigate brain-training programs, I'm sure you will be glad you did. Be sure to verify claims made and that they have clinically-proven research to back their claims up.

Will you or someone you love be one of the 35 million living with dementia? Do something NOW -- before it's too late!

By clicking through on this link you will learn the proven results of using Posit Science Brain Fitness computer program that includes improving memory by an average of 10 years!

Try out the FREE demo, tests and word game.

http://www.brainreview.info/posit_sciencebrainfitnesscomputerprogram/