What Is The Difference Between Senile Dementia And Alzheimer’s?

Senile dementia and Alzheimer’s are different pathologies. However, it is true that both have dementia. But what is dementia?

Dementia is defined as a decrease in intellectual level with respect to the previous level of knowledge. During it, higher functions deteriorate. Thus, attention span, concentration and memory are lost. Understanding and expression of language, mathematical abilities and psychomotor coordination are also lost.

Other higher functions affected during dementia are task planning and execution and resistance to fatigue. The capacity for judgment, will, abstract thinking, affective regulation and impulse control are also affected.

There are multiple possible causes of dementia. These include Alzheimer’s disease, vascular diseases, and other diseases of the central nervous system.

Senile dementia and Alzheimer’s

We will now proceed to define these two pathologies to clarify the distinction between them.

Senile dementia

Senile dementia belongs to the group of  dementias that can manifest in older adults. It really is not a specific disease. As suggested by the Alzheimer’s Association, it is a set of symptoms that includes impaired memory and other reasoning abilities. These symptoms are severe enough to interfere with daily life.

That is, senile dementia can refer to any type of dementia. As such, it can be caused by various diseases. Thus, senile dementia can correspond to Alzheimer’s, a vascular disease or a disease of the central nervous system.

Alzheimer disease

Alzheimer’s is another type of dementia. However, its etiology is well established. It is characterized by loss of neurons, with the consequent loss of synaptic density (synapse refers to the connection between two neurons). In addition, various substances, such as amyloid material, are deposited in the nervous tissue.

Neurotransmitter alterations also occur , and the cerebral cortex atrophies.

Differences between senile dementia and Alzheimer’s

Location of lesions

Alzheimer’s disease is a cortical-type dementia. Thus, it is the brain gray matter that is affected, as suggested by this study from the University of Los Andes (Chile). Therefore, the functions controlled by the gray matter (cortex) are affected. These are, fundamentally, judgment, memory, language, attention and concentration.

Senile dementia can be cortical or subcortical. Thus, in addition to affecting the anterior functions, the functions governed by the subcortical encephalic layer may be affected. These include motor skills, affective dysregulation, sluggishness, apathy, and memory loss. In addition, two circumstances are characteristic of subcortical dementia:

• Apraxias: loss of ability to carry out dexterous movements.
• Agnosias: loss of ability to recognize stimuli.

However, it is noteworthy that practically all dementias become mixed as they evolve.

Frame progression

The clinical picture of Alzheimer’s progresses for approximately 5 to 10 years. It develops in stages. The first of them shows a decrease in resistance to fatigue and adaptability in extraordinary activities. Likewise, absentmindedness and denial of the disease are manifested, but also concern and anxiety, as stated by the Spanish Society of Neurology.

During the second stage there is difficulty in adapting to extraordinary tasks. This also causes loss of attention, concentration and memory and depressive symptoms.

In the third stage, there is a decrease in the ability to adapt to already ordinary tasks. In addition, affective dysregulation is experienced. During the fourth stage, the ability to adapt to ordinary tasks decreases seriously. The person is no longer aware of his illness and his personality changes.

The fifth stage is experienced with already very severe cognitive impairment. Finally, during the sixth stage, he no longer recognizes his relatives and is totally dependent.

On the other hand, vascular dementias develop from transient ischemic attacks (TIA), according to the US National Library of Medicine. This means that the damage is cumulative and the evolution is in leaps. There are sharp decreases in higher functions followed by stabilizations.

Other dementias are due to more specific diseases of the nervous system. Thus, your clinical picture will be due to the specific disease.

So Alzheimer’s disease progresses slowly. However, senile dementia can evolve:

• Gradually: if the senile dementia is Alzheimer’s type.
• By leaps: if the senile dementia is vascular.
• According to specific diseases of the nervous system.