Dementia comes inevitably with age
This myth is absolutely untrue, as dementia is not necessarily a part of aging. In fact, according to the latest report published by the Alzheimer’s Association, this disease, which is also the most common form of dementia, only affects 3% of people between 65 and 74 years old in the United States. As a result of the increased risk as we age, 17% of people who are between 75 and 84 years old and 32% of people who are 85 years old have a dementia diagnosis.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are the same thing
This is also not right. Alzheimer’s is a particular type of dementia that accounts for 60 to 80% of all existing cases. There are other types of dementia, including frontotemporal dementia (FTD), vascular dementia, mixed dementia, or even Lewy body dementia. The National Institute of Aging oftentimes defines dementia as “the loss of cognitive functions, such as thinking, remembering, and reasoning, but also behavioral abilities to such an extent that it starts to interfere with someone’s daily life and activities.”
Even if dementia has certain characteristics, each type has a different underlying pathology. Alzheimer’s disease is oftentimes associated with a buildup of something known as plaques and tangles in the brain.
These structures sometimes interfere with brain cells, eventually destroying them. However, brain cell death in vascular dementia is different, as it occurs because of a lack of oxygen, which might result from a stroke, for example. FTD is another relevant example, as it appears when abnormal protein structures are born in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which causes the brain cells in their vicinity to die.
