The National Institute on Aging estimates that 6 million Americans live with some form of dementia. The most common forms include:
Alzheimer’s Disease – 62% of individuals with dementia have Alzheimer’s. It is caused by the buildup of two abnormal protein structures in the brain called amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, which disrupts communication between brain cells.
Vascular dementia – 20% of those with dementia have this type, which is caused by interrupted oxygen flow to the brain, causing brain cells to die.
Lewy body dementia – 15% of those with dementia have this type. It’s caused by Lewy bodies which are abnormal structures found in the brain’s cortex, which is responsible for thinking, perceiving and understanding language.
Frontotemporal dementia – 3% of those with dementia have this type. It’s caused by the degeneration of brain cells located in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which control personality, judgment, emotion and language.
Additional detail on the multiple forms of dementia can be found here.