Other Causes of Dementia -- Overview

Alzheimer's disease is the nation's leading mind-robber -- but it's not the only one.



Many other conditions can cause symptoms that might be mistaken for Alzheimer's. Some rare dementing conditions, such as Pick's disease, are less treatable than Alzheimer's and fatal within about a decade. But most non-Alzheimer's conditions that cause dementia are fairly treatable.



Current tests and assessments for Alzheimer's are about 90% accurate. But this means that in approximately one case in 10, a person diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease might not have it.



Consider the case of painter Willem de Kooning (1904-1997), a major figure in modern abstract expressionism. In the early 1970s, the then-70-year-old artist began showing signs of what his doctors called Alzheimer's disease. De Kooning forgot people's names and recent events. He covered up his obvious confusion with lies and wisecracks, sometimes bursting into rages, while at other times lapsing into extended silences. His output declined, and eventually, he stopped painting altogether.



But de Kooning's wife, Elaine, refused to believe that he had Alzheimer's, which at that time was completely untreatable. The couple had been separated for many years, but Elaine re-entered de Kooning's life, and instead of buying into his diagnosis, she shepherded him through a lifestyle-improvement program. He had been drinking so heavily that he suffered blackouts; she insisted that he quit drinking. He had been eating poorly; she improved his diet. He had become almost completely sedentary; she coaxed him into daily exercise. And she made sure he got more sleep. Slowly, de Kooning's mental acuity returned, and eventually, he began painting again. (Ironically, de Kooning developed true Alzheimer's disease 10 years later in the early 1980s, and was declared legally incompetent in 1989.)



Mistakes such as de Kooning's original Alzheimer's misdiagnosis are much less likely today because diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease has improved considerably during the last 20 years. But misdiagnosis is still possible, which is why anyone concerned that a loved one might have Alzheimer's should become familiar with the other causes of dementia, many of which can be successfully treated.