Sometimes early dementia symptoms can be vague, making the type of dementia hard to identify. It may take several years for enough symptoms to develop to point to a specific type of dementia. By learning about common forms of dementia, you can help your physician most quickly identify what type of dementia has developed.

• Some types of dementia are reversible. They may be caused by an interaction of certain medications, a vitamin deficiency or a curable illness. If you are experiencing changes in your memory or cognitive abilities, please consult with a doctor to identify the cause and begin treatment immediately.
• For many types of dementia, there are no known cures. These types of dementia mainly affect older adults, though some people are diagnosed with ‘early-onset dementia’ as young as their forties.

Getting an early and accurate diagnosis along with appropriate treatment is very important since people with LBD often respond very differently to certain medications.

Common Forms of Dementia

Alzheimer’s disease symptoms include a progressive loss of recent memory, problems with language, calculation, abstract thinking, and judgment, depression or anxiety, personality and behavioral changes, and disorientation to time and place. LBD is frequently misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s disease, especially in the early stage. Over time, changes in movement, hallucinations, or RBD can help distinguish LBD from Alzheimer’s disease.

Lewy body dementia (LBD) is an umbrella term for a form of dementia that has three common presentations.

• Some individuals will start out with a change in thinking that may resemble Alzheimer’s disease, but over time two or more distinctive features become apparent, leading to the diagnosis of ‘dementia with Lewy bodies’ (DLB). Symptoms that differentiate LBD from Alzheimer’s include unpredictable levels of cognitive ability, attention, or alertness, changes in walking or movement, visual hallucinations, a sleep disorder called REM sleep behavior disorder, in which people physically act out their dreams, and severe sensitivity to medications for hallucinations. In some cases, the sleep disorder can precede dementia and other symptoms of LBD by decades.
• Others will start out with a movement disorder leading to the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and later develop dementia and other symptoms common in DLB.
• A small group will first present with neuropsychiatric symptoms which can include hallucinations, behavioral problems, and difficulty with complex mental activities, leading to an initial diagnosis of DLB.

Regardless of the initial symptom, over time all three presentations of LBD will develop very similar cognitive, physical, sleep, and behavioral features, all caused by the presence of Lewy bodies throughout the brain.

Vascular dementia is caused by a series of small strokes that deprive the brain of vital oxygen. Symptoms – such as disorientation in familiar locations, walking with rapid, shuffling steps, incontinence, laughing or crying inappropriately, difficulty following instructions, and problems handling money (these symptoms may appear suddenly and worsen with additional strokes). High blood pressure, cigarette smoking, and high cholesterol are some of the risk factors for stroke that may be controlled to prevent vascular dementia.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) includes several disorders with a variety of symptoms. The most common signs of FTD include changes in personality and behavior, such as inappropriate or compulsive behavior, euphoria, apathy, the decline in personal hygiene, and a lack of awareness concerning these changes. Some forms of FTD involve language and speech symptoms or movement changes.