MYTH: Dementia is a disease.
FACT: Dementia is not a specific disease—it describes a group of symptoms.
MYTH: Dementia is part of the normal aging process.
FACT: Dementia is NOT a product of typical aging.
MYTH: If you have dementia, the symptoms stay the same.
FACT: Dementia symptoms worsen over time.
Myth: Alzheimer’s happens only to older people.
Fact: Most people with Alzheimer’s are 65 and older. But it can happen when you’re younger, too. About 5% of people with the disease get symptoms in their 30s, 40s, or 50s. It’s called early-onset Alzheimer’s.
People who have it often go a long time before getting an accurate diagnosis. That’s because doctors don’t usually consider it a possibility during midlife. They often think symptoms like memory loss are from stress.
Early-onset Alzheimer’s can be genetic. Scientists think it involves changes in one of three rare genes passed down from a parent.
Myth: Alzheimer’s is caused by aluminum, flu shots, silver fillings, or aspartame.
Fact: You may have heard that cooking with aluminum pans or drinking from aluminum cans causes Alzheimer’s. But there’s no scientific evidence to back that claim.