If someone no longer knew their own name, or did not recognized their children, or could no longer read when they used to read fine, they might have dementia. Alzheimer's disease is a specific kind of dementia, but there are many other conditions and diseases that can cause dementia. One of the symptoms of AD is dementia, but a number of other diseases can also cause dementia. It is important to understand this distinction because some of the other diseases that cause dementia can be treated. For a table of other causes of dementia, click here.
Senility is an old fashioned term for dementia.
It was used when people believed that severe memory impairments and confusion were a normal part of aging. Scientists no longer believe that senility or dementia is a normal part of aging. These days, the term dementia is more commonly used, and is more appropriate. However, it is still important to find out what the cause of dementia is. AD is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, which slowly develops over the course of many years.