Is it Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease or Parkinson’s Disease?

As we age, our brains age too. It is common for older people to experience mild cognitive impairment (MCI), where difficulties with memory, cognition and mobility can arise. Cognitive decline and impairment can be signs of something more serious, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease. Although they might seem similar, each condition has unique presentations, causes and treatments. We’re going to go over dementia, parkinsons and Alzheimer's disease and what you can do if you notice the signs of each.

What is Dementia?

Dementia is an umbrella term for symptoms related to deficits or changes in memory, thinking and behavior. Dementia is not a specific condition, and can include symptoms such as:

• Memory and concentration issues
• Difficulty in conversations or finding the correct words when speaking
• Being confused when doing familiar tasks, such as counting change when shopping
• Mood changes, depression and confusion

There are many different types of dementia, all with a different cause and pathology. Doctors will often easily be able to diagnose someone with dementia, but will need to conduct further tests to determine the specific type of dementia someone has.

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is a specific type of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, and is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. This means that symptoms develop over time, and will gradually get more severe. Alzheimer’s disease damages nerve cells in the brain and affects their ability to communicate, and can lead to these nerve cells dying. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include:

• Memory issues, specifically for recent events as Alzheimer’s often affects the brain’s learning areas first
• Mood changes, such as apathy, depression or aggression
• Delusion, including experiencing hallucinations
• Mobility issues, including walking and daily activities

The causes for Alzheimer’s disease are not well understood, however there are some genetic risk factors.

What is Parkinson’s Disease?

Parkinson’s disease is not a type of dementia. Like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease is also a neurodegenerative disorder, however it mostly affects mobility and movement. One key symptom of Parkinson’s disease is tremors, especially in the hands. Like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s is also progressive, meaning it develops over time, and additionally can lead to nerve cells dying. Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease include:

• Tremors in the arms, head, hands or jaw
• Muscle stiffness
• Slowness in movement
• Balance or mobility issues, causing falls

Parkinson’s disease affects a different type of nerve cell to Alzheimer’s. Parkinon’s disease affects nerve cells which produce a neurotransmitter called Dopamine, leading to lower dopamine production. This low dopamine is what researchers believe causes the mobility issues of Parkinson’s.

Although it is not a type of dementia, as Parkinson’s disease progresses, it is possible for someone to develop Parkinson’s Disease dementia, where issues in cognition and behavior similar to Alzheimer’s can occur.

You can check for symptoms* of Parkinson’s Disease below:

Comparing Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Dementia

You can compare the differences in symptoms using this diagram below. As you can see, there are some overlaps between Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Dementia, despite being distinct conditions.

How The Gut-Brain Connection Affects Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease

Our gut and brain affect each other due to the bidirectional gut-brain axis (GBA). Our gut is responsible for producing 90% of our serotonin and 50% of our dopamine – two important neurotransmitters. The levels of these neurotransmitters can affect our mental wellbeing and mood, and are linked to a variety of mental health conditions.

Interestingly, levels of both of these neurotransmitters are altered in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, too. As mentioned before, cells which produce dopamine are directly affected by Parkinson’s, which leads to low dopamine levels. As for Alzheimer’s, research suggests the degeneration of cells in Alzheimer’s disease could lead to low serotonin levels.  As serotonin and dopamine can be produced in the gut, and are associated with neurodegenerative diseases, supporting gut health could be key to improving wellbeing for someone with Alzheimer’s or Parkinsons.

Supporting the gut-brain axis through probiotics could be key to managing and alleviating symptoms for neurodegenerative disease. One probiotic strain proven to act on the gut-brain axis is PS128, a specific strain of Lactobacillus Plantarum. PS128 has been studied in preclinical trials for Parkinson’s Disease, and showed improvements in cognition, mobility and mood, and reduced tremor severity.

Dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s can lead to frustrating cognitive issues and affect someone’s mood, wellbeing and quality of life. All of these conditions are related to degeneration of the nerve cells responsible for cognition, memory, thinking and mobility, but also affect levels of neurotransmitters in the brain as well.

As our gut is responsible for producing a lot of our serotonin and dopamine, supporting the gut can possibly help to alleviate symptoms. One strain of probiotic proven to alleviate symptoms in Parkinson’s is PS128, which has been backed by clinical and preclinical studies. You can consider supporting the wellbeing of your loved ones with PS128, the world’s first gut-brain probiotic.

Dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease all sound similar due to their overlap in symptoms, but are distinct conditions from one another. Each condition affects cognition and mood, so finding ways to manage each condition can greatly improve wellbeing. Supporting the Gut-Brain connection could be one way to boost wellbeing, especially for Parkinson’s Disease.

*The self-test is for informational purposes only and is not a diagnostic tool