{"entity":{"id":"dementia","kind":"cancer","name":"Dementia (umbrella)","aka":[],"tldr":"Dementia is an umbrella term for changes that affect thinking, memory, communication, and everyday tasks. It is not a normal part of ageing.","summary":"Dementia names a syndrome: acquired, progressive difficulty with cognition that interferes with daily life. Alzheimer’s disease is the most discussed cause on this atlas, but vascular injury, Lewy body disease, frontotemporal degeneration, Parkinson’s disease, and mixed pathology also cause dementia. Mild cognitive impairment is a related state in which changes are noticeable but daily independence is largely preserved. Labels help match care, trials, and medicines. They do not replace a clinical assessment.","asOf":"2026-09-21","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia","links":[{"label":"NIA: Alzheimer’s and related dementias","url":"https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-and-dementia"},{"label":"NICE NG97","url":"https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng97"}],"tags":["dementia-atlas"],"related":["alzheimers-disease","dementia-with-lewy-bodies","vascular-dementia","frontotemporal-dementia","mixed-dementia","mild-cognitive-impairment","parkinsons-disease-dementia"],"cancers":[],"sections":["da-front-symptomatic-care","da-front-care-delivery"],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["da-term-mci","da-term-mixed-dementia"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["da-bn-late-diagnosis","da-bn-subtype-misclassification"],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"group":"dementia","burden":"Dementia is a clinical syndrome, not a single disease. Several brain diseases can cause it, and mixed pathology is common.","subtypes":["Alzheimer’s disease","Dementia with Lewy bodies","Parkinson’s disease dementia","Vascular dementia","Frontotemporal dementia","Mixed dementia","Mild cognitive impairment"],"biomarkers":["Clinical history and informant report","Cognitive testing","Structural MRI","Amyloid PET or cerebrospinal fluid amyloid and tau where indicated","Blood biomarker research assays"],"standardOfCare":[{"setting":"Any suspected dementia","approach":"History, examination, medicines review, blood tests for reversible contributors, and cognitive testing. Imaging and specialist referral follow local pathways.","refs":["da-tech-care-navigation","da-front-symptomatic-care"],"guideline":{"version":"NICE NG97","url":"https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng97"}}],"stateOfArt":["Diagnosis is clinical first, with biomarkers used to support subtype questions rather than to replace the story of the person.","Care planning, safety, and carer support sit beside any medicine discussion."],"history":[],"pipeline":[],"openProblems":["Many people never receive a subtype diagnosis.","Trial populations still under-represent mixed pathology, vascular disease, and diverse communities."],"basics":{"symptoms":["Memory, language, visuospatial, or judgement changes that interfere with daily tasks.","Changes are acquired and usually progressive, not a lifelong learning difference."],"diagnosis":["A clinician takes a history from the person and someone who knows them, reviews medicines, and looks for reversible contributors.","Further tests are chosen for the individual, not as a fixed panel."],"staging":["Care needs are often described as early, moderate, or severe. These are support descriptions, not a single lab number."],"sources":[{"label":"NICE NG97","url":"https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng97"},{"label":"NIA","url":"https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-and-dementia"}]}},"route":"/diagnoses/dementia/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"alzheimers-disease","kind":"cancer","name":"Alzheimer’s disease","route":"/diagnoses/alzheimers-disease/"},{"id":"dementia-with-lewy-bodies","kind":"cancer","name":"Dementia with Lewy bodies","route":"/diagnoses/dementia-with-lewy-bodies/"},{"id":"frontotemporal-dementia","kind":"cancer","name":"Frontotemporal dementia","route":"/diagnoses/frontotemporal-dementia/"},{"id":"mild-cognitive-impairment","kind":"cancer","name":"Mild cognitive impairment","route":"/diagnoses/mild-cognitive-impairment/"},{"id":"mixed-dementia","kind":"cancer","name":"Mixed dementia","route":"/diagnoses/mixed-dementia/"},{"id":"parkinsons-disease-dementia","kind":"cancer","name":"Parkinson’s disease dementia","route":"/diagnoses/parkinsons-disease-dementia/"},{"id":"vascular-dementia","kind":"cancer","name":"Vascular dementia","route":"/diagnoses/vascular-dementia/"}],"section":[{"id":"da-front-care-delivery","kind":"section","name":"Care delivery","route":"/fronts/da-front-care-delivery/"},{"id":"da-front-symptomatic-care","kind":"section","name":"Symptomatic care","route":"/fronts/da-front-symptomatic-care/"}],"term":[{"id":"da-term-mci","kind":"term","name":"Mild cognitive impairment","route":"/terms/da-term-mci/"},{"id":"da-term-mixed-dementia","kind":"term","name":"Mixed dementia","route":"/terms/da-term-mixed-dementia/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"da-bn-late-diagnosis","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Late and uneven diagnosis","route":"/bottlenecks/da-bn-late-diagnosis/"},{"id":"da-bn-subtype-misclassification","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Wrong-subtype treatment","route":"/bottlenecks/da-bn-subtype-misclassification/"}],"technology":[{"id":"da-tech-care-navigation","kind":"technology","name":"Dementia care navigation","route":"/technologies/da-tech-care-navigation/"}]}}