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A 70-year-old repeats questions and gets lost in familiar streets. This is Alzheimer's dementia — hippocampal neurodegeneration with amyloid plaques and tau tangles: short-term memory fails first, then language, judgment, and self-care. Donepezil (cholinesterase inhibitor) modestly helps early; no cure yet. Contrast delirium (acute, fluctuating, reversible cause) — dementia is chronic and progressive. The history from the family (not the patient) diagnoses — memory loss the patient denies is the disease's signature.