Dementia

Dementia

Serious loss of cognitive function not related to normal aging.

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)

Cognitive deficits that do not interfere with daily living; MMSE score of 20-26.

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)

The most common form of dementia, accounting for 80% of cases, characterized by slow progression and memory loss.

MMSE

Mini Mental Status Exam used to assess cognitive abilities.

Neurodegenerative

Refers to conditions that are usually progressive, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Frontotemporal Dementia

Most common dementia in individuals under 65, characterized by executive function impairment and social withdrawal.

Vascular Dementia

Dementia type with less memory loss but more cognitive speed and problem-solving difficulties.

Lewy Body Dementia

Second most common dementia type, marked by fluctuating cognition and visual hallucinations.

Neurofibrillary Tangles

Abnormal structures formed in the brain during Alzheimer’s disease that kill neurons.

Amyloid Plaques

Deposits in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease pathology.

Tau Protein

A protein that stabilizes microtubules; becomes dysfunctional in Alzheimer’s disease.

Amyloid precursor protein (APP)

Amyloid precursor protein involved in the formation of amyloid plaques.

Genetic Predisposition

99% of Alzheimer’s cases show a genetic predisposition, with heritability between 0.6 - 0.8.

APOE

A lipid-binding protein that influences Alzheimer’s disease risk; e4 allele increases risk, while e2 allele reduces it.

Prion

A misfolded protein that can induce other proteins to misfold, relevant in the context of Alzheimer’s disease pathology.