Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe conditions affecting the brain that get worse over time. Researchers have connected changes in the brain that damage nerve cells to certain forms of dementia. The five most common forms of dementia are listed below.
- Alzheimer’s disease is typically associated with abnormal buildups of proteins in the brain along with a loss of connection among nerve cells.
- Vascular dementia is caused by vascular changes in the brain, such as a stroke or injury to small vessels carrying blood to the brain.
- Lewy body dementia is typically associated with abnormal deposits of a protein (Lewy bodies) in the brain.
- Frontotemporal dementia is often linked to abnormal amounts or forms of proteins and the loss of nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes.
- Mixed dementia refers to when someone has a combination of brain changes associated with different forms of dementia, such as both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
Find more information on the causes of dementia on Alzheimers.gov.
As part of the new Alzheimers.gov website, NIA has renamed this email list to Alzheimers.gov Highlights. You will continue to receive weekly updates with research-driven Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias information, resources, clinical trials, and more.
Last Updated on April 7, 2021
