Dementia is an umbrella term for a set of symptoms related to a decline in cognitive abilities (related to conscious intellectual activity) including: memory loss, impaired judgment and reasoning, disorientation, learning difficulties, changes in personality and moods.

There are many different causes of dementia. Here are some examples: 

  • Alzheimer's disease
  • Stroke (leading to Vascular dementia)
  • Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease
  • Frontotemporal dementia
  • Lewy body dementia
  • Parkinson's disease
  • Korsakoff's syndrome (usually associated with alcoholism)
  • AIDS-related cognitive impairment

Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of brain damage that leads to dementia, accounting for about 64% of all cases. It is a progressive, degenerative disease. Symptoms include loss of memory, difficulty with day-to-day tasks, and changes in mood and behaviour.

Physically, Alzheimer’s disease causes distinct markings in the brain. Brain cells shrink or disappear and are replaced by dense, irregularly shaped spots called plaques. Threadlike tangles will also develop within existing brain cells, and will eventually destroy these healthy cells.



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