These terms are often used interchangeably, but they actually have very different meanings. Dementia is not a specific disease. It's an overall term, sometimes referred to as an umbrella term, which describes a wide range of symptoms. These symptoms impact a person's ability to perform everyday activities independently. Common symptoms include:

• A decline in memory
• Changes in thinking skills
• Poor judgment and reasoning skills
• Decreased focus and attention
• Changes in language and communication skills

Alzheimer's disease is one type of dementia, but it's not the only one. There are many different types and causes of dementia, including:

• Lewy body dementia
• Frontotemporal dementia
• Vascular dementia
• Parkinson's disease dementia
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
• Huntington's disease
• Mixed dementia

Alzheimer's disease, however, is the most well-known and common form of dementia but not everyone with dementia has Alzheimer's disease.