Dementias come in many colors. Alzheimers is a more specific type of dementia, but the criteria have some grey areas.  Dementia is defined as brain failure at the cellular (neuron) level. Depending upon which cells are being most damaged first, a different label may apply.  These labels include: Alzheimers, Parkinsons, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, Macular Degeneration, etc.  They are similar–simply stated, natural repair mechanisms are not working optimally. Identifying root-cause level factors can slow and potentially reverse the loss.  Recent data suggests that non-neuron brain cells such as glia have an important role in neuronal metabolism and can be a factor in dementia.