Understanding What They're Facing

Mild cognitive impairment — the space between normal and dementia

Reviewed by the How To Help Your Elders Team Mild cognitive impairment sits between normal aging and dementia. It means cognitive changes beyond what's typical for age, but not severe enough to substantially interfere with daily life. About 10 to 15 percent of people with MCI convert to

Memory loss that isn't dementia — other causes worth knowing about

Reviewed by the How To Help Your Elders Team When someone with dementia becomes aggressive, it is almost always driven by pain, fear, overstimulation, or neurological damage, not by choice or hostility. Understanding what's behind the outbursts and learning de-escalation techniques protects both your parent and you, and

Understanding What They're Facing

Frontotemporal dementia — when personality changes come first

Reviewed by the How To Help Your Elders medical review team Frontotemporal dementia attacks the parts of the brain that control personality, judgment, and social behavior before it touches memory. Your parent may still remember your name and find their way around the house while becoming someone you do not

Understanding What They're Facing

Mixed dementia — when it's more than one thing

Reviewed by the How To Help Your Elders Team No dementia medication reverses cognitive loss. What exists are drugs that may slow the rate of decline by months, not years, and medications that can manage behavioral symptoms like agitation. The decision to medicate involves weighing modest benefits against real side

Understanding What They're Facing

Vascular dementia — when strokes steal cognition piece by piece

Reviewed by Dr. Elena Torres, M.D. Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia, responsible for roughly 15 to 20 percent of all cases according to the Alzheimer's Association. Unlike Alzheimer's, it is caused by strokes cutting off blood supply to the brain.

Understanding What They're Facing

Lewy body dementia — the one nobody talks about enough

Reviewed by the How To Help Your Elders Team Lewy body dementia is the third most common cause of dementia, affecting an estimated 1.4 million Americans according to the Lewy Body Dementia Association. It brings hallucinations, movement problems, and cognitive decline simultaneously, and carries a dangerous medication trap that

Understanding What They're Facing

Alzheimer's disease — what it is, what it isn't, and what to expect

Reviewed by the How To Help Your Elders medical review team Alzheimer's disease is a biological process of protein accumulation in the brain that progressively destroys neurons, causing memory loss, cognitive decline, and eventual loss of basic functions. It is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for

Understanding What They're Facing

The stages of Alzheimer's — what each one actually looks like day to day

Reviewed by Dr. Elena Torres, M.D. About 6.9 million Americans aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's disease, according to the Alzheimer's Association. The disease moves through recognizable stages, each one changing daily life in specific ways. Understanding what each stage actually looks

Understanding What They're Facing

Dementia explained — the umbrella term and what falls under it

Reviewed by the How To Help Your Elders medical review team Dementia is not a disease. It is a term that describes a set of symptoms: progressive decline in memory, thinking, and the ability to function in daily life. The actual disease causing those symptoms could be Alzheimer's,