Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementias: Insights for Early Detection and Care Planning _ ___________________
TYPES OF DEMENTIA (Continued)
Disease
Symptoms
Attributes/Causation
Vascular dementia
Problems with reasoning Impacted judgement, memory, and other thought processes Symptoms vary by location of actual constriction
Caused by constriction or breakdown of blood vessels in and around the brain Can be the result of a stroke(s) Lifestyle factors (diet, lack of movement, smoking) contribute to disease progression Disease can be allayed by exercise, diet, avoiding alcohol and smoking Originally referred to as punch drunk syndrome Caused by extensive hits to the head Brain has tau protein like Alzheimer disease, but presents uniquely in CTE Some symptoms can be addressed with medication Diagnosed postmortem No cure
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)
Memory loss, confusion Mood disorder, personality changes, rage Can present in mid-life Person becomes erratic and unpredictable
Atypical Alzheimer disease
Amnestic problems Unusually early symptoms impacting executive and motor functioning Similar to Alzheimer disease or other form of dementia Varied symptoms suggest multiple forms of dementia Asymmetric limb rigidity, dystonia, muscle jerks (myoclonus), difficulty with motor planning (apraxia) Progressive difficulty with language (aphasia), executive functioning, and visuospatial impairments Changes in personality, irritability, and apathy Rapid cognitive decline with memory loss, confusion, and personality changes Muscle jerks (myoclonus), loss of coordination (ataxia), visual disturbances, and speech abnormalities Anxiety, depression, and psychosis Memory loss, difficulty concentrating, and executive dysfunction Slowed movements, clumsiness, and coordination problems Apathy, depression, and social withdrawal Involuntary jerking movements (chorea), dystonia, slowed movements (bradykinesia) Progressive decline in executive function, memory, and attention Depression, irritability, anxiety, and impulsivity
Frontal variant of Alzheimer disease Posterior cortical atrophy
Mixed dementia
Most often diagnosed as Alzheimer disease Co-existing pathology, such as blood clots or vascular disease, found postmortem Impacted by relationship between cognitive function and underlying brain abnormalities Associated with abnormal tau protein accumulation in the brain, leading to neuronal degeneration Often linked to corticobasal degeneration (CBD), a rare neurodegenerative disease
Corticobasal syndrome (CBS)
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)
Caused by prions, which are misfolded proteins that lead to brain damage Can be sporadic, inherited, or acquired through exposure to infected tissue
HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND)
Caused by the direct effects of HIV on the central nervous system, leading to inflammation and neuronal damage
Huntington disease
A genetic disorder caused by a mutation in the HTT gene, leading to the production of an abnormal huntingtin protein that causes neuronal death
Table 1 continues on next page.
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