Symptom and diagnosis entry.
A stub brain map. For now, start from the diagnosis that matches the story, then read its basics panel.
Memory of recent events
Often discussed with Alzheimer’s disease or mixed dementia. Sudden change is not typical and needs urgent care.
Fluctuating alertness or visual hallucinations
Raise Lewy body disease or delirium. Antipsychotics can be dangerous in Lewy body disease.
Stepwise change after stroke
Raises vascular cognitive impairment. Antibody labels for Alzheimer’s disease do not automatically apply.
Behaviour or language first
Raises frontotemporal dementia. There is no FDA cognitive treatment specifically for this type.
Open a diagnosis page
Diagnosis
Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disease that commonly causes dementia. Early-stage anti-amyloid medicines exist for a carefully selected group, and several older medicines can support cognitive symptoms.
Diagnosis
Dementia (umbrella)
Dementia is an umbrella term for changes that affect thinking, memory, communication, and everyday tasks. It is not a normal part of ageing.
Diagnosis
Dementia with Lewy bodies
Dementia with Lewy bodies often mixes thinking changes with fluctuating alertness, visual hallucinations, sleep-acting-out, and movement symptoms. Antipsychotics can cause severe sensitivity reactions.
Diagnosis
Frontotemporal dementia
Frontotemporal dementia often changes behaviour, personality, or language earlier than memory. There is no FDA-approved medicine specifically for its cognitive symptoms.
Diagnosis
Mild cognitive impairment
Mild cognitive impairment means thinking changes are noticeable on testing, but everyday independence is largely preserved. Some people later develop dementia. Others stay stable or improve.
Diagnosis
Mixed dementia
Mixed dementia means more than one brain disease is contributing, often Alzheimer’s pathology plus vascular injury. Trial results from pure Alzheimer’s cohorts may not apply unchanged.
Diagnosis
Parkinson’s disease dementia
Parkinson’s disease dementia is dementia that appears in the setting of established Parkinson’s disease. Rivastigmine has an FDA indication for this use and is a symptom treatment, not disease-modifying.
Diagnosis
Vascular dementia
Vascular dementia follows stroke or other blood-vessel injury in the brain. There is no FDA-approved medicine specifically for its cognitive symptoms. Vascular risk care still matters.