20.2.3 Dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is not the only dementia, although it is the most common. Vascular dementia follows stroke, where following the blockage of cerebral blood vessels, the lack of oxygen and nutrients initiates the death of neurones. Vascular dementia can take different forms, depending on where the blood vessel is that was blocked. Dementia with Lewy bodies (abnormal spherical structures inside nerve cells) often occurs in subjects with long term Parkinson’s disease. Mixed dementia is when Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia occur in the same person.