Dementia is an umbrella term for a range of progressive conditions that affect the brain. The brain is made up of nerve cells (neurones) that communicate with each other by sending messages. Dementia damages these nerve cells so messages cannot be sent effectively, which prevents the brain from functioning normally. There many different types, subtypes and causes of dementia.

The four most common are:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Vascular dementia
• Frontotemporal dementia
• Lewy body dementia.

It is possible to have more than one type of dementia at the same time – this is known as mixed dementia. The most common combination is Alzheimer’s disease and Vascular dementia.

Dementia can affect a person at any age, but it is more commonly diagnosed in people over the age of 65 years, with the risk increasing the older a person gets. However, dementia is not a normal or inevitable part of the aging process. Dementia can also affect younger people.

Over 70,000 people in the UK live with young onset dementia, where symptoms develop before the age of 65.

A very small number of cases of dementia are due to genetic mutations, such as some forms of Frontotemporal dementia, Huntington’s disease and rare varieties of Alzheimer’s disease. However, for most people, dementia is not inherited.

*Taken from Dementia UK