Non Alzheimer’s dementia

Dementia is the progressive loss of previously acquired cognitive and intellectual functions and characterized by disorientation, impaired memory, judgment and intellect.

Non-Alzheimer’s types of dementia include vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia and dementia caused due to neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease.

It is important to diagnose non-Alzheimer’s dementias accurately as they often carry different prognoses entail different treatment consideration from Alzheimer’s disease.

Atypical features that arouse a suspicion of non-Alzheimer’s dementia are most salient early in the course of disease and include prominent executive dysfunction, marked speech disturbance, marked behavioral changes, frequent falls, vivid hallucinations, focal neurological deficit, extrapyramidal signs, vertical gaze limitation and asymmetric apraxia/dystonia.

Visual hallucinations are part of the core diagnostic construct of dementia with Lewy bodies, occurring in up to 77% of patients.

Vascular dementia may be somewhat less prone than Alzheimer’s disease or dementia with Lewy bodies to cause delusional symptoms.

Vascular dementia is caused by minor strokes that accumulate over a long period of time and eventually affect blood flow to the areas of the brain related to memory and thinking.

It is estimated that about 18% of these under 65 with dementia have vascular dementia, which makes its prevalence similar to other non-Alzheimer’s dementias in this age group.
Non Alzheimer’s dementia