There are two general classes of dementias: cortical and subcortical. A cortical dementia is one like Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) where the outer layer (the “bark”) of the brain is first affected. AD typically affects the ventromedial frontal and dorsomedial temporal lobes first. The medial portions of the temporal lobes (e.g., hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus) are heavily involved in memory processes. So typically with AD we first see atrophy (or volume loss) in those regions; the gray matter (bodies of neurons) die off and the brain shrinks. We are still not entirely sure what causes AD – we know genetics plays a part as do environmental factors such as exercise, nutrition, and education but we don’t know the specific pathology of the disease. AD also is related to swelling to some degree; so an adult who is approaching old age can likely reduce the chances of getting AD simply by taking a “baby aspirin” daily. At the very least it will likely delay the onset and slow down the progression of the disease.
There are also subcortical dementias. These can occur as a result of stroke, Huntington’s disease, or Parkinson’s disease. These types of dementias can occur and worsen rapidly (in the case of strokes) or can be fairly mild initially (as in Parkinson’s-type dementias). Subcortical dementias will over time and in the latest stages of the disease become indistinguishable from AD. Another type of subcortical dementia is Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB, or Lewy-body dementia). This is a disease that appears to combine aspects of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and schizophrenia. People with DLB often have vivid visual hallucinations and other psychoses. It is a terrible disease for the person with it as well as caretakers and family.