Dementia is not a disease; it's a collection of symptoms , which include severe memory loss, cognitive impairment, and personality changes. There are dozens of distinct diseases and medical conditions that can cause dementia.
Alzheimer's is the most common such disease, but there are many others, such as, for example, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. Dementia can also result from stroke or from traumatic brain injury, or from conditions like Down's syndrome. Depending on the particular cause, symptoms of dementia can vary quite a bit.
Common Signs and Symptoms of Dementia
According to the article "Understanding Dementia – Signs, Symptoms, Types, Causes and Treatment" on HelpGuide.org, symptoms of the condition include:
- memory loss, especially short-term memory
- impaired judgment
- difficulties with abstract thinking
- faulty reasoning
- inappropriate behavior
- loss of communication skills
- confusion about time and place
- gait, motor, and balance problems
- neglect of personal care and safety
- hallucinations, paranoia, agitation
Some of these symptoms, like memory loss and confusion, might seem, at first glance, to be not so very different from the "senior moments" most people 40 and older experience. However, the kind of forgetfulness, or "zoning out," or having to hunt for a word that's on the tip of your tongue, that occurs more frequently as people get older is very different from what happens in people with symptoms of dementia.
For example, everybody misplaces their car keys now and then. That sort of thing might happen a bit more frequently as people age, but that is a normal part of aging. Someone suffering from dementia, however, would put the car keys in the freezer and then not be able to find them later. Anyone can have a "senior moment" (even if not a senior!) and lose his train of thought, or go upstairs and forget what he went up there for, or call someone he knows well by the wrong name. That is a normal part of aging – or just of being under stress – and the person who does this will remember what he wanted to say, or what he went upstairs to get, or will realize after a moment that the name he used was wrong, and correct himself.
A person with dementia, by contrast, will ask a question and never remember he asked it before, or forget what he said and not even realize he forgot it. A person with dementia will not realize his mistake.
Dementia: Causes and Risk Factors
Dementia can occur in over 50 distinct medical conditions or diseases. Diseases such as Parkinson's and Huntington's, which attack the neurological system and brain function, can be accompanied by dementia. Alzheimer's is one of this group, and as mentioned above is the most common cause of dementia.
Vascular dementia, which occurs as the result of a series of small strokes and changes in the vascular (blood vessel) system, is the second most common cause of dementia. Memory loss and severe impairment of intellectual functions are typical of vascular dementia just as they are of Alzheimer's, but unlike Alzheimer's, in which these symptoms develop and worsen gradually over time, the symptoms of vascular dementia often come on with little warning.
Traumatic head injuries are a strong risk factor for dementia, especially as they affect cognitive function, speech, and memory. Substance abuse, malnutrition, dehydration, communicable diseases such as HIV, liver or kidney disease, and brain tumors all can cause dementia.
In addition to physiological, environmental, and lifestyle factors, heredity also plays a part, as it does in many medical conditions. It is important to remember, though, that heredity is not destiny, and both lifestyle and environmental factors can be influenced.
Prevention and Treatment of Dementia
Although there is as yet no treatment for progressive forms of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease that can cure the disease or reverse damage to the brain once it happens, there are medications that can slow down the progress of the disease, and improve, to some extent, cognitive and behavioral functions such as memory loss, abstract reasoning, and impaired judgment.
Medications also can help with symptoms such as epilepsy, depression, anxiety, and hallucinations, which occur in some forms of dementia (particularly depression). Additionally, medications can be used to treat high blood pressure, to keep cholesterol at healthy levels, and to prevent or control conditions such as diabetes, all of which can be implicated in vascular dementia. Lifestyle choices such as exercise and diet can also aid in preventing or controlling such risk factors.
A large and growing body of scholarly evidence suggests that engaging in daily intellectual activities such as reading, writing, doing crossword puzzles and other word and language games, Internet surfing, playing board and card games, and participating in group discussions can significantly delay both the onset of Alzheimer's disease, among other forms of dementia, and can slow down the loss of cognitive function by weeks or even months.
Finally, early diagnosis of any dementia is essential to the effectiveness of all forms of treatment. Ignoring symptoms only makes it harder to treat and manage Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. So the bottom line is: Get regular baseline exams and see your doctor at the first sign of trouble.
Sources:
HelpGuide.org. "Understanding Dementia – Signs, Symptoms, Types, Causes and Treatment" (accessed August 5. 2010).
MedicineNet.com. "Is There Any Treatment for Dementia?" (accessed August 5, 2010).
New York Times Health Guide. "Dementia" (accessed August 5, 2010).
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