What is the Difference Between Alzheimer’s and CTE

The key difference between Alzheimer’s and CTE is that Alzheimer’s is believed to be caused by a combination of age-related changes in the brain and genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors, while CTE is believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head and recurrent episodes of concussion.

Alzheimer’s and CTE are two progressive brain conditions. Alzheimer’s and CTE show similar shrinkages in the hippocampus and accumulation of the proteins such as beta-amyloid and tau, resulting in memory difficulties, behaviour, and mood changes. The same dementia caregiving and communication techniques used for Alzheimer’s can be applied in the treatment regime of CTE.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Alzheimer’s 
3. What is CTE
4. Similarities – Alzheimer’s and CTE
5. Alzheimer’s vs CTE in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Alzheimer’s vs CTE

What is Alzheimer’s?

Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurologic disease that causes the brain to shrink and brain cells to die. It is the most common cause of dementia and causes a decline in thinking, behavioural, and social skills. Therefore, Alzheimer’s affects a person’s ability to function independently. Approximately 5.8 million U.S people age 65 years or older have Alzheimer’s disease. Out of that, 80% are older than 75 years. The signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include minor memory problems, confusion, getting lost in familiar places, problems with speech and language, difficulty planning or making decisions, problems moving around without assistance, hallucinations, low mood, personality changes like becoming aggressive, demanding, and suspicious of others, and anxiety. It is caused by a mixture of age-related changes in the brain as well as, genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. These factors trigger the formation of beta-amyloid protein plaques and tau protein tangles in the brain, which lead to Azheimer’s.

Azheimer’s disease can be diagnosed through physical and neurological examination, lab tests (blood tests),  mental status and neurological testing, and brain imaging (MRI, CT scan, and PET). Furthermore, Alzheimer’s disease is treated through medications (cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine) for memory symptoms and cognitive changes and for creating a safe and supportive environment.

What is CTE?

CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy) is a progressive brain condition that is thought to originate due to repeated blows to the head and recurrent episodes of concussion. CTE was also known as punch drunk syndrome or dementia pugilstica. It is usually associated with contact sports, such as boxing or football. The symptoms of CTE include short-term memory loss, changes in mood, increasing confusion and disorientation, difficulty thinking, slurred speech, significant memory loss, parkinsonism (tremors, slow movement, and muscle stiffness), and difficulty eating or swallowing.

CTE can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, brain scans (CT scan, MRI, and PRT scans), and testing plasma or cerebrospinal fluid for biomarkers. Furthermore, there is no proper treatment for CTE. However, occupational therapy might help to decrease disease progression.

What are the Similarities Between Alzheimer’s and CTE?

• Alzheimer’s and CTE are two progressive brain conditions.
• They are degenerative neurological disorders.
• Both conditions cause dementia.
• In both diseases, one can observe similar shrinkages in the hippocampus and accumulation of the proteins such as beta-amyloid and tau, resulting in memory difficulties, behaviour, and mood changes.
• The same dementia caregiving and communication techniques used for Alzheimer’s can be applied in the treatment of CTE as well.

What is the Difference Between Alzheimer’s and CTE?

Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain condition caused by a combination of age-related changes in the brain and genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors, while CTE is a progressive brain condition caused by repeated blows to the head and recurring episodes of concussion. Thus, this is the key difference between Alzheimer’s and CTE. Furthermore, Alzheimer’s is the prominent cause of dementia, while CTE is not a prominent cause of dementia.

The following table summarizes the difference between Alzheimer’s and CTE.

Summary – Alzheimer’s vs CTE

Alzheimer’s and CTE are two neurological degenerative disorders. Both disorders show similar shrinkages in the hippocampus and accumulation of the proteins such as beta-amyloid in the brain. Alzheimer’s can be caused by a blend of age-related changes in the brain and genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. CTE can be caused by repeated blows to the head and recurrent episodes of concussion. So, this is the key difference between Alzheimer’s and CTE.

Reference:

1. “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
2. “Alzheimer’s disease.” NHS Choices, NHS.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Brain Inflammation from Alzheimer’s Disease” By NIH Image Gallery (CC BY-NC 2.0) via Flickr
2. “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy” By Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy –  (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia