DEMENTIA, ALZHEIMER’S AND PARKINSON’S Old age dementia Dementia describes a group of affecting memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily life. It is not a specific disease, but several different diseases may cause dementia. Dementia is more common in people over the age of 65, but it can also affect younger people. An early of the disease can begin when people are in their 30s, 40s, or 50s. With treatment and early diagnosis, one can slow the progression of the disease and maintain mental function. Depending on the area of the brain that is affected by the damage, dementia can affect people differently and cause different symptoms. symptoms onset Dementia is caused by damage to or loss of nerve cells and their connections in the brain. Alzheimer’s disease Many people use the words dementia and Alzheimer’s disease interchangeably. However, they are not the same thing. Some forms of dementia are completely unrelated to Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease has an insidious onset and gradual progression in cognitive . The causes are associated with and in the brain. Experts say that a small percentage of cases can be related to the mutation of three genes, which can be passed down from parent to child. Treatment can help with the symptoms, but there is no cure for this disease which causes significant impairment in social or occupational functioning and represents a significant decline from a previous level of functioning. is a , the most common form of dementia. Alzheimer’s neuro-cognitive disorder impairment It causes decline in memory and learning and progressive decline in . cognition plaques tangles Parkinson’s disease . This means that the symptoms will gradually worsen over time. In people with Parkinson’s disease, a vital chemical in the brain, , slowly decreases. Dopamine is responsible for . The symptoms are: , , slowness of movements, small or , loss of facial expression and . Parkinson’s is a progressive movement disorder dopamine coordinating movements muscle shaking stiffness cramped handwriting soft voice WARM UP a. Alzheimer’s disease is a kind of dementia. b. Both refer to the same disease. c. The two diseases are completely different. Do you know what the relationship between dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is? DO Although Alzheimer’s is often associated to old people, it can strike younger people like in the film (2015) where the protagonist, a linguistics professor, develops Alzheimer’s when she is just 50. [Still Alice Official Trailer #1 (2015)] posted by . 1 Still Alice Movieclips Trailers