Introduction to Dementia

What is dementia?
Dementia is not a specific disease. The term "dementia" describes a steady, progressive decline in memory and other cognitive functions that results in a change in the ability to conduct one's usual activities (driving, shopping, balancing a checkbook, working, etc.) and relationships. While dementia often includes memory loss, memory loss by itself does not mean that a person has dementia.

A number of different disorders can cause dementia. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause in older adults. Some other diseases that cause dementia include frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia and dementia with Lewy Bodies. Each of these diseases can be recognized by the specific effects they have on cognitive and motor function.

Diseases That Cause Dementia
Many types of diseases cause dementia. The chart below illustrates that these diseases affect people at different ages. For people who are age 65 and older with a degenerative dementia, the most common disorders are Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia (see lower chart). In people who are under 65, frontotemporal dementia and Huntington's disease are also common.

Topics
Diseases, and even normal aging, can affect many different types of cognitive and motor functions. This section discusses some of these functions affected by neurodegenerative disorders.

Treatment
While there are not yet medications available to reverse the damage caused by dementia, there are ways to help relieve some of the symptoms. See the sections on the left under Treatment to learn more about what is available.

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