Dementia Types (Cont.)

Types of Dementia

Non-Treatable Dementia Types

Although a number of diseases can cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease is by far the most common. More than one-half of all dementia cases are caused by Alzheimer's disease. The second most common cause of dementia is multi-infarct dementia, which is a type of vascular dementia.

Other dementia types that currently have no cure include:

Lewy body dementia
Binswanger's disease
Frontotemporal dementia
Corticobasal degeneration
Certain conditions that can cause childhood dementia
HIV-associated dementia
Other infections within the brain, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Huntington's disease and other rare hereditary dementias
Head trauma, such as dementia pugilistica (also known as boxer's syndrome).

Other conditions that can cause dementia or dementia-like symptoms include:

Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis (MS)
Heart and lung problems
Anoxia or hypoxia (conditions in which the brain's oxygen supply is either reduced or cut off entirely).

Although dementia is common in very elderly individuals, it is not a normal part of the aging process.

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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD

Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD

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