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Dementia, Alzheimer's or just brain fog? Here's how to tell the difference
For years, conditions like dementia and Alzheimer's disease were often brushed aside in India as issues of "old age" or even mistaken for personality with rising awareness and better healthcare access, families and doctors are starting to recognise these as medical concerns reported closer to home that deserve timely to the Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI), more than 5.3 million Indians are currently living with dementia, and this number is expected to triple by 2050 due to the country's ageing
DEMENTIA VS ALZHEIMER'S: WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?While people often use the terms interchangeably, dementia and Alzheimer's disease are not the same is an umbrella term, used to describe a group of symptoms that affect memory, thinking, and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily life. It happens when cells in the brain slowly begin to die. In dementia, symptoms can include forgetfulness, confusion, having trouble speaking, having difficulty in comprehending conversations, pulling away, and change in is the most common type of dementia, accounting for 60% to 70% of all dementia cases in the of dementia as the disease and Alzheimer's as one of the main are other forms of dementia too, like vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and Lewy body dementia. Each has different causes and Alzheimer's disease, the brain undergoes physical changes, including the build-up of abnormal proteins that slowly damage and kill brain leads to progressive memory loss, confusion, and changes in personality and dementia can strike in the 60s and above, symptoms are now striking as young as the 40s, known as young-onset DOES BRAIN FOG FIT IN?Unlike dementia and Alzheimer's, brain fog is not a medical diagnosis, but a term people use to describe a temporary state of mental cloudiness.
Think of dementia as the disease and Alzheimer's as one of the main causes. ()
It can feel like difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, or struggling to find words. Brain fog can be triggered by stress, lack of sleep, hormonal changes, or illness, including the after Covid-19 effects or long fog is usually reversible but dementia is not since it is a brain-shrinking disease. Brain fog can mimic some symptoms of dementia, like confusion, forgetting instructions of something you're can also happen because of an illness or a side effect of medication or a symptom of an underlying condition, according to Cleveland fog feels like difficulty concentrating, confusion, fatigue, forgetfulness, losing your train of thought, mental exhaustion, not having the right words, slow thought process and reaction time and trouble paying attention.
Brain fog is usually reversible but dementia is not since it is a brain-shrinking disease. ()
In some cases, many lifestyle factors can trigger brain fog, signalling brain tumors, which may initially manifest with subtle cognitive DIAGNOSIS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCEWhile there is no cure for dementia or Alzheimer's, early diagnosis can help slow progression and improve quality of sooner it is detected, the better it can be managed, whether through medication, lifestyle changes, or caregiver signs like frequently forgetting appointments, misplacing objects, repeating questions, or withdrawing from social activities should not be ignored, especially if they worsen over brain fog, though milder, can still be disruptive. Treating it often means improving sleep, managing stress, and correcting nutritional deficiencies (vitamin D or B12). If it persists, a medical evaluation can rule out more serious Watch
