Sorting Out Dementias

Alzheimer's, Pick’s, Lewy Body, Senility—Related Yet Different

Sep 18, 2008 James Cooper

All these words and more refer to conditions that usually cause memory loss. But the conditions are distinctly different, and some of these words have fallen into disuse

When a loved one is diagnosed with a dementia, it’s usually a jolt. A new vocabulary may be necessary to understand and deal with the new challenges. Jargon around diagnoses is often the first hurdle. Just what might those words refer to?

Dementia

This is the umbrella label. All the diagnoses defined below are types of dementia. Dementias are usually characterized as progressive conditions that lead to memory loss.

Alzheimer's dementia

The most common dementia in the USA, it usually occurs after age 65, and the first signs are short term memory loss or visuospatial confusion.

Vascular dementia

It’s the second most common USA dementia. It used to be thought to be the most common in Japan, but new studies suggest, while it is more common there than in the USA, it does not surpass Alzheimer's. It is more likely in people with heart or blood vessel disease. The first signs are problems in decision making and other executive function.

Binswanger’s dementia

A subset of vascular dementia, it was first used to describe a condition in which there is blood vessel damage deep in the lower (subcortical) brain region. It is hard to differentiate it from other vascular dementias, and the term has fallen out of use.

Multi-infarct dementia

Essentially another term for vascular dementia. It implies that the brain has had many little strokes, but it, too, is hard to differentiate from other vascular dementias, and the term has also fallen out of use.

Dementia with Lewy Bodies

Memory loss is not the first sign of this dementia. Hallucinations or falling might be. Some say it is a variant of Parkinson’s disease, other say it is distinct.

Frontotemporal lobe dementia (FTLD)

Because it is under-diagnosed, it might actually be the second most common type of dementia. There are two major types. In the most common, the person’s personality changes. He may become cranky, or unorganized or uninhibited. In the less common type, there is profound loss of the use of words, while other function remains intact.

Pick’s Disease

A variant of frontotemporal lobe dementia, it’s named after microscopic cells that appear in the brain. It is hard to separate this condition from other frontotemporal lobe dementias, and the term is falling out of use.

Parkinson’s disease with dementia

Parkinson’s disease starts out as decreased control of muscle function, usually with tremor and stiffness. It may, after many years, lead to memory loss, a condition called Parkinson’s disease with dementia.

Corticobasal degeneration

Rare, its early signs are asymmetric abnormal muscle control, sometimes with jerkiness and rigidity. A strange manifestation can be “alien hand syndrome,” in which the hand seems to have a mind of its own.

Senility

An old term that is poorly defined. It’s not used in modern clinics.

Alcohol related dementia

There are no universally accepted criteria for this diagnosis. Experts believe it can progress even after a person stops drinking.

The copyright of the article Sorting Out Dementias in Seniors' Health/Medicare is owned by James Cooper. Permission to republish Sorting Out Dementias in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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