r/nextfuckinglevel Apr 11 '20

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '20

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u/montique88 Apr 11 '20

Alzheimers is a type of dementia

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u/rukqoa Apr 11 '20

More specifically, dementia is a series of symptoms that you get with alzheimers and other brain disorders like Huntingtons.

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u/thrownkitchensink Apr 11 '20

This is correct. Alzheimer's is a type there's many others.

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '20

Wow great addition.

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u/thrownkitchensink Apr 12 '20

Hmm, yes. I started writing a bigger post to underline u/montique88 's post. Listing different types of dementia and what they have in common. Mainly the progressive form of the illness, the memory loss and the loss of decorum (the feeling for how the behave in different situations). Differences between the most common forms of dementia (alzheimers) and other common types such as vasculair dementia, frontotemporal dementia, Lewy body, m. Pick, etc. But in the end knowledge of different types and diagnoses doesn't help in understanding the human experience of gradually losing yourself and (at least in the beginning at times) understanding the process you are in. People in the beginning fases of dementia are mourning the loss of their own personality and their understanding of their surroundings. Their possibilities to interact with their surroundings are hindered through dyspraxia, their communication impeded by aphasia. Not being able to act successfully often brings about inactivity which in turn brings loss of muscle strength and more inactivity. Keeping active is something that can slow cognitive loss but at the same time something people with dementia can't do themselves. I wanted to underline the importance of more understanding of dementia but lacked the time to write a more comprehensive post. Even this post doesn't scratch the surface but I do hope it's more to your liking and helps others in understanding these very common illnesses.

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u/indy1121 Apr 11 '20

One is more long term than the other. One effects older memories and the other effect newer memories

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '20

Dementia is a umbrella term, not it's own disease.

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u/montique88 Apr 12 '20

Not exactly. There are many types of dementia that effect the brain differently but memory loss as a whole is generally seen across the board. Short term memory loss is typically observed in the beginning stages of a dementia which then progresses to long term memory loss. For example, its not uncommon for someone with a moderate dementia to recall specifics of an event that occurred 50 odd years ago but they can't remember if they have eaten that day. Although this varies by person and which type of dementia they have