| Alzheimer's disease | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Alzheimer's dementia |
 |
|
| Diagram of a normal brain compared to the brain of a person with Alzheimer's | |
| Pronunciation |
|
| Specialty | Neurology |
| Symptoms | Memory loss, problems with language, disorientation, mood swings[1][2] |
| Complications | Infections, falls and aspiration pneumonia in the terminal stage[3] |
| Usual onset | Over 65 years old[4] |
| Duration | Long term[2] |
| Causes | Poorly understood[1] |
| Risk factors | Genetics, head injuries, clinical depression, hypertension,[1] psychological stress,[5] lack of physical[6] and mental[5][7] exercise |
| Diagnostic method | Based on symptoms and cognitive testing after ruling out other possible causes[8] |
| Differential diagnosis | Normal brain aging,[1] Lewy body dementia,[9] Trisomy 21[10] |
| Medication | Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, NMDA receptor antagonists[11] |
| Prognosis | Life expectancy 3–12 years[11][12][13] |
| Frequency | 50 million (2020)[14] |
| Named after | Alois Alzheimer |
| Alzheimer's disease | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Alzheimer's dementia |
|
|
| Diagram of a normal brain compared to the brain of a person with Alzheimer's | |
| Pronunciation |
|
| Specialty | Neurology |
| Symptoms | Memory loss, problems with language, disorientation, mood swings[1][2] |
| Complications | Infections, falls and aspiration pneumonia in the terminal stage[3] |
| Usual onset | Over 65 years old[4] |
| Duration | Long term[2] |
| Causes | Poorly understood[1] |
| Risk factors | Genetics, head injuries, clinical depression, hypertension,[1] psychological stress,[5] lack of physical[6] and mental[5][7] exercise |
| Diagnostic method | Based on symptoms and cognitive testing after ruling out other possible causes[8] |
| Differential diagnosis | Normal brain aging,[1] Lewy body dementia,[9] Trisomy 21[10] |
| Medication | Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, NMDA receptor antagonists[11] |
| Prognosis | Life expectancy 3–12 years[11][12][13] |
| Frequency | 50 million (2020)[14] |
| Named after | Alois Alzheimer |
