Dementia And Alzheimer's Disease: A Literature Review
Introduction
Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are still somewhat of a mystery in the medical world. Most people believe that they are one in the same. More often than not, people use Alzheimer’s disease and dementia interchangeably, due to their similarities. This, coupled with the public’s lack of awareness of these subjects, contributes to mix-ups and misconceptions in everyday conversations about the two. The intended purpose of this writing is to give the reader a general overview on the topics mentioned, as well as answer the question – How are dementia and Alzheimer’s disease different?
Annotated Bibliography
Harrison-Dening, K. (2013). Dementia: diagnosis and early interventions. British Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, 9(3), 131-137.
The author gives a few statistics about people living with dementia in the United Kingdom. She also stresses the importance of nurses having a broader awareness of dementia for the sake of dementia patients and their families. Also discussed here is early diagnostic interventions, which could lead to better care for …show more content…
patients, as well as advanced care planning. This article helped to formulate the difference in definitions of Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
Omega-3 fatty acids in early prevention of inflammatory neurodegenerative disease: A focus on alzheimer's disease. (2015). BioMed Research International, 20151-13. This article was only used as a reference to inform the reader about some of the characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, it was used in contrast to the definition of dementia.
Ouldred, E., & Bryant, C. (2009). A practical guide to dementia. Management British Journal of Healthcare, 5-10.
This article talks about the implications of dementia in the United Kingdom. The authors go on to speak about the symptoms, referencing the three main forms: Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. Also talked about in this article are symptoms of dementia, some forms of treatments, the importance of early diagnosis, as well as the needs of caregivers of dementia patients. This article is used to establish a general definition of what dementia is for the reader of this writing.
Tripathi, M., & Vibha, D. (2009). Reversible dementias. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 5152-55.
This article was used to identify some of the causes of dementia. In addition to that, it was also used to indicate some of the reversible causes of the syndrome. While some causes of dementia are reversible/curable, was also shown here that Alzheimer's disease currently has no cure.
Wierenga, C. E., & Bondi, M. W. (2011). Dementia and alzheimer's disease: What we know now. Generations, 35(2), 37-45.
This article is used to inform the reader about some of the more known causes of dementia. Included in the list is Huntington's disease and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). In addition, it was used to illustrate some of the differences between Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this writing will show how Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are different. Although, they may continue to be a mystery to the medical community for some time to come. However, with more and more research and information in these areas, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease will become more commonplace to help the affected population. The public’s awareness level will also rise in hopes of alleviating the mix-ups and disproving the misconceptions about the two conditions. Once these obstacles have been overcome, people will begin to understand how Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are different.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease appear to be very similar on the surface, but they are also different in some ways.
On one end of the spectrum, there is dementia. Dementia is not a specific disease. Dementia is a clinical syndrome that refers to a range of cognitive deficits that result from damage to the brain. Such deficits include memory and/or language skills, severe enough to affect day-to-day functioning (Ouldred & Bryant, 2009). At the other end of the proverbial spectrum is Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s, which refers to a specific type of dementia, is a slow degenerative brain disease. It is characterized by cognitive alterations, memory loss, and behavioral changes that affect daily living (Thomas, Thomas, Radcliffe, & Itsiopoulos, 2015). It is also the most common cause of dementia. Think of it like this - Alzheimer’s is the disease and dementia is one of the causes of the
symptom.
Dementia has many causes, although many of them are unknown (Harrison-Dening, 2013). Some of the more common instances of dementia include Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia. It can be found in other cases as well, such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or traumatic brain injury (Wierenga & Bondi, 2011). Conversely, causes for Alzheimer’s disease are relatively unknown at this point. It is noted that some forms of dementia are completely unrelated to Alzheimer’s disease.
Another misconception is that not all causes of dementia are curable. There are several reversible causes of dementia such as any drug with anticholinergic activity, normal pressure hydrocephalus tumor or other space-occupying lesion, anemia (vitamin B12 or folate deficiency), emotional depression, metabolic (hypothyroid), infection (syphilis, AIDS) to name a few (Tripathi & Vibha, 2009). Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s disease does not share any of the before mentioned cures, whether it be from drug/curative treatments or otherwise. Currently, Alzheimer’s is a fatal disease with no known cure.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are still somewhat of a mystery in the medical world. Most people believe that they are one in the same. More often than not, people use Alzheimer’s disease and dementia interchangeably, due to their similarities. This, coupled with the public’s lack of awareness of these subjects, contributes to mix-ups and misconceptions in everyday conversations about the two. The intended purpose of this writing is to give the reader a general overview on the topics mentioned, as well as answer the question – How are dementia and Alzheimer’s disease different?
Annotated Bibliography
Harrison-Dening, K. (2013). Dementia: diagnosis and early interventions. British Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, 9(3), 131-137.
The author gives a few statistics about people living with dementia in the United Kingdom. She also stresses the importance of nurses having a broader awareness of dementia for the sake of dementia patients and their families. Also discussed here is early diagnostic interventions, which could lead to better care for …show more content…
patients, as well as advanced care planning. This article helped to formulate the difference in definitions of Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
Omega-3 fatty acids in early prevention of inflammatory neurodegenerative disease: A focus on alzheimer's disease. (2015). BioMed Research International, 20151-13. This article was only used as a reference to inform the reader about some of the characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, it was used in contrast to the definition of dementia.
Ouldred, E., & Bryant, C. (2009). A practical guide to dementia. Management British Journal of Healthcare, 5-10.
This article talks about the implications of dementia in the United Kingdom. The authors go on to speak about the symptoms, referencing the three main forms: Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. Also talked about in this article are symptoms of dementia, some forms of treatments, the importance of early diagnosis, as well as the needs of caregivers of dementia patients. This article is used to establish a general definition of what dementia is for the reader of this writing.
Tripathi, M., & Vibha, D. (2009). Reversible dementias. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 5152-55.
This article was used to identify some of the causes of dementia. In addition to that, it was also used to indicate some of the reversible causes of the syndrome. While some causes of dementia are reversible/curable, was also shown here that Alzheimer's disease currently has no cure.
Wierenga, C. E., & Bondi, M. W. (2011). Dementia and alzheimer's disease: What we know now. Generations, 35(2), 37-45.
This article is used to inform the reader about some of the more known causes of dementia. Included in the list is Huntington's disease and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). In addition, it was used to illustrate some of the differences between Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this writing will show how Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are different. Although, they may continue to be a mystery to the medical community for some time to come. However, with more and more research and information in these areas, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease will become more commonplace to help the affected population. The public’s awareness level will also rise in hopes of alleviating the mix-ups and disproving the misconceptions about the two conditions. Once these obstacles have been overcome, people will begin to understand how Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are different.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease appear to be very similar on the surface, but they are also different in some ways.
On one end of the spectrum, there is dementia. Dementia is not a specific disease. Dementia is a clinical syndrome that refers to a range of cognitive deficits that result from damage to the brain. Such deficits include memory and/or language skills, severe enough to affect day-to-day functioning (Ouldred & Bryant, 2009). At the other end of the proverbial spectrum is Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s, which refers to a specific type of dementia, is a slow degenerative brain disease. It is characterized by cognitive alterations, memory loss, and behavioral changes that affect daily living (Thomas, Thomas, Radcliffe, & Itsiopoulos, 2015). It is also the most common cause of dementia. Think of it like this - Alzheimer’s is the disease and dementia is one of the causes of the
symptom.
Dementia has many causes, although many of them are unknown (Harrison-Dening, 2013). Some of the more common instances of dementia include Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia. It can be found in other cases as well, such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or traumatic brain injury (Wierenga & Bondi, 2011). Conversely, causes for Alzheimer’s disease are relatively unknown at this point. It is noted that some forms of dementia are completely unrelated to Alzheimer’s disease.
Another misconception is that not all causes of dementia are curable. There are several reversible causes of dementia such as any drug with anticholinergic activity, normal pressure hydrocephalus tumor or other space-occupying lesion, anemia (vitamin B12 or folate deficiency), emotional depression, metabolic (hypothyroid), infection (syphilis, AIDS) to name a few (Tripathi & Vibha, 2009). Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s disease does not share any of the before mentioned cures, whether it be from drug/curative treatments or otherwise. Currently, Alzheimer’s is a fatal disease with no known cure.