Dementia For Dummies - UK

Chapter 3

Looking at the Different Types of Dementia

In This Chapter

Discovering the main types of dementia

Identifying distinguishing symptoms

Taking a brief look at the treatments

Dementia can be very confusing – and not just for the person who has it. This is because no single cause of dementia exists; rather, a number of different diseases may be responsible, each with its own unique signature symptoms. So, rather than being a diagnosis in its own right, dementia is actually an umbrella term for the effects that a handful of different neurological conditions can have on the brain and the behaviour of the person who develops them.

In this chapter I look at each of these conditions in detail, focusing on their particular symptoms and causes and the treatments that are being tried to help manage them. I start with the most famous and most common type: Alzheimer’s disease.

Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia all over the world, affecting almost 500,000 of the 800,000 people with dementia in the UK. It can affect adults of any age, but becomes more common as people get older.

Alzheimer’s disease has a number of stand-out symptoms ...