How are Alzheimer’s and Dementia related?
Often times when people come to see me, the disease they’re the most afraid of developing is Alzheimer’s Disease. It’s understandable. When people think of Alzheimer’s, they think of people with brains that are steadily deteriorating. They also see and fear the loss of cognitive functions including memories.
A Disease Nobody Wants
Memories define us and give our lives meaning. They make our lives recognizably different from that of everyone else. Through storing and processing every experience we’ve ever had, memories give us a reference point to compare every new encounter we face. They allow us to continuously learn about ourselves and the world around us, and keep track of the story of our lives.
Alzheimer’s disease destroys memories, and the destruction of memories causes us to forget who we are. Being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease feels like a notice that you’ll lose yourself as well as your loved ones. But Alzheimer’s doesn’t just impact memory, it impacts language and other cognitive functions.
What is Alzheimer’s Disease?
Alzheimer’s is one type, of the many types of dementia. Alzheimer’s happens to be the most frequent type, however. But, it’s one of the conditions that has a significant impact on thinking and social functions. It’s a progressive disorder that impacts:
different cognitive abilities
memory loss
thinking
perception
mood
problem-solving
When an MRI of the brain or CT scan of the head is performed on a patient, there are changes that neurologists see in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s Disease. Usually, there’s atrophy or shrinking of the brain, especially in the areas that impact memory and language. The changes can be seen with any type of dementia and arent necessarily specific to Alzheimer’s.
The hallmarks of Alzheimer’s Disease are lingering issues happening on a microscopic level that an MRI or CT scan can’t show. The unseen issues are usually an accumulation of abnormal protein fragments called amyloid plaques. Amyloid plaques live in between neurons and preventing them from communicating with each other efficiently. Additionally, the development of neurofibrillary tangles made up of the protein tau prevents neurons from getting the nutrients they need to survive.
A Future With Alzheimer’s
As scary as the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s maybe it’s not inevitable. You’re not just passively waiting to get older and develop dementia, let alone Alzheimer’s disease. In the upcoming blogs, I’ll discuss how the choices and lifestyle choices you make can influence whether or not you develop Alzheimer’s Disease. Stay tuned.