Savyy Senior: What's the Difference Between Alzheimer's and Dementia?

Dear Savvy Senior,

What’s the difference between Alzheimer’s disease and dementia? My aunt has dementia, but they don’t know if she has Alzheimer’s disease, which is very confusing to me.

--Trying To Understand

Dear Trying,

Many people use the words “Alzheimer’s disease” and “dementia” interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. In fact, you can have a form of dementia that is completely unrelated to Alzheimer’s disease. Here’s what you should know.

Dementia versus Alzheimer’s

Dementia is a general term for a set of symptoms that includes memory loss, impaired communication skills, a dec...