Parkinson’s Vs Alzheimer’s Disease and Associated Dementia Pt 2

At any rate, both of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease are highly common, which is one of the main reasons for confusion about dementia associated with the two. On top of that, it is also possible for a Parkinson’s diseases sufferer to develop Alzheimer’s, and also to develop more than one type of dementia at a given time because of this or other reasons.

Confusion between Parkinson’s Disease and Dementia

Some people with Parkinson’s disease show problems with cognition, but this does not necessarily mean they have fallen to dementia. They could be experiencing urinary tract infections, pneumonia, thyroid disease, etc, or symptoms similar to dementia owing to medication intake. While on seeing these signs, these people or their relatives may fear that dementia is setting in, it might just come about that addressing the medical symptoms makes them disappear completely.

Signs of Parkinson’s Disease and Related Dementia

  • Shuffled walking.
  • Tremor when at rest.
  • Muscle rigidity.
  • Slowed movements.
  • Issues with swallowing.
  • Handwriting that is cramped.
  • Expressionless faces.
  • Quiet speech.

In the majority of cases, Parkinson’s disease remains idiopathic. Sometimes, this could be because of a head trauma, medications side effects, poisoning, or other things. Parkinson’s disease often starts a lot earlier than Alzheimer’s disease as seen from medical observations. However, the former is usually rare in people under 50. Parkinson’s disease dementia shows the following symptoms.

  • Struggling to articulate.
  • Hallucinations
  • Anxiety
  • Reduced ability to concentrate.
  • Delusions
  • Irritability
  • Paranoia
  • Clouded judgment.
  • Daytime drowsiness.
  • Memory care recall issues, though not as bad as you would have with Alzheimer’s disease.

Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease

There are quite a few signs which point to Alzheimer’s diseases in a person, sometimes of the early-onset.

  • Memory issues affecting daily life, such as when the person forgets social events, or starts relying excessively on family members to handle some or many of the tasks which they used to handle themselves.
  • Not being able to drive to a memorable place.
  • Taking much longer to complete the same tasks.
  • Forgetting what season it is.
  • Forgetting how they got to someplace.
  • Using the wrong words when trying to describe something.
  • A drop in hygiene.
  • Accusing people of stealing things which you misplaced.
  • Self-imposed isolation because of anxiety regarding declining cognition.

People with Alzheimer’s disease would experience cognitive impairment which only gets worse with time, even though this could take several years to play out. People with Parkinson’s disease may not get dementia. If they do, it could be one of Parkinson’s disease dementia, the Alzheimer’s, or caused by something else. It is also possible that what they have is a combination of the different types of dementia.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.