What Is Dementia?

Dementia is an "umbrella" term used to define impairments in thinking, behavior, and the ability to perform everyday tasks.  Dementia also involves memory loss and changes in the brain that are severe enough to interfere with a person's daily life.

Common forms of Dementia include:

• Alzheimer's Dementia (AD) is the most common form of dementia. Alzheimer's disease leads to nerve cell death and tissue loss throughout the brain. Over time, the brain shrinks dramatically, affecting nearly all its functions. The most common early symptom of Alzheimer’s is trouble remembering new information because the disease typically impacts the part of the brain associated with learning first. Common behaviors associated with AD include wandering and getting lost, trouble handling money and paying bills, and repeating questions.

• Vascular Dementia (VD) is often caused by reduced blood flow to the brain, often as a result of having a stroke. People with VD often have difficulty thinking, walking, and performing everyday tasks.

• Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) is a type of progressive dementia associated with abnormal protein deposits called Lewy bodies. DLB leads to thinking and reasoning difficulties, movement symptoms, rigidity, shuffling while walking, hallucinations, and sleep difficulty.

• Frontotemporal Dementia is caused by nerve cell loss on the frontal lobe of the brain. This can change behavior, personality, and ability to comprehend language.

• Mixed Dementia is commonly associated with Alzheimer’s, vascular and Lewy body dementias.

• Korsakoff Syndrome is linked to excessive alcohol consumption over many years, resulting in gradual brain damage that causes problems with memory, learning, reasoning and other mental functions, as well as with personality, mood and social skills.

To learn more about the different types of dementia, visit the Alzheimer’s Association.