Dementia is a debilitating disease that slowly destroys the mind from within, slowly destroying people's memories, movement and cognitive ability until taking the person's life. With a steady decline from two to three years and a more aggressive decline from three year to five years where it enters its final stage, normally resulting in death (Willis, Tennstedt, Marsiske, Ball, Elias, Koepkem, Morris, Rebok, Unverzagt, Stoddard & Wright, 2006). However while currently there is no cure for Dementia, during the two to three year span the disease can be delayed and symptoms can be minimised through a form of treatment (Willis et al., 2006;Gates, Sachdev, Singh & Valenzuela, 2011). Known as Cognitive training, defined as the targeting of specific areas of cognitive function through specific techniques to help delay the symptoms of Dementia (Jean, Bergeron, Tbivirge & Simard, 2010). …show more content…
This is believed due to cognitive training intervening the disease and increasing brain plasticity being the brains ability to re-adjust its self after altering events in the brains physical and chemical structure, therefore reducing the impairment in cognitive abilities and delaying or possibly preventing the onset of dementia (Belleville, Clement, Mellah, Gilbert, Fontaine & Gauthier,
Dementia is a progressive process, with the symptoms and decline in function often worsening, sometimes rapidly, overtime. Although the elderly population are most frequently affected, many younger patients can also be affected. Currently, no cure, be it medical or behavioural, has been isolated, however certain treatments have proved beneficial in delaying the onset or staying off further rapid deterioration. In addition to pharmaceutical treatment modalities, other support and managerial techniques may enable n enhanced quality of life.
Dementia is a disease which causes mental debility and affects one’s way of intelligent, attentiveness, recollection and problem-solving (NHS, 2013). As a result of dysfunction of brain cells in some parts of the brain it affects the thinking process then dementia occurs and it usually comes with age (Ibid). It is estimated that 560
Alzheimer 's disease is a progressive deterioration of cognitive function sufficient to cause functional disability (Hannaman, Mitchell, Cross, 2011). It is the most common cause of dementia after age 60 with initial signs reflective of hippocampal dysfunction, with poor immediate recall and short-term memory. "As the disease progresses, visuospatial dysfunction (including with directions and geographic disorientation), due to parietal lobe involvement, and executive dysfunction (including difficulty initiating and completing tasks, reduced spontaneity, and apathy). due to frontal dysfunction typically appear" (Hannaman, Mitchell, Cross, 2011, p. 11-6). Median survival rate is 3 years because of
Dementia is a condition resulting from obtained brain disease and distinguished by progressive decay in memory and other cognitive fields such as judgment, abstract thinking, language, and executive functioning. This disease is usually caused by degeneration in the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for thoughts, memories, actions, and personality. Death of brain cells in this area leads to the impairments that distinguish dementia. Though the cognitive outline of single diagnosed with dementia vary somewhat by etiology, the degree of deterioration stands for a decrease from previous levels of cognitive functioning and is enough to impede with social and occupational functioning. This downfall is beyond what might be expected from normal aging in a person. It can cause impairment with everyday activities such as dressing, feeding, and bathing.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and fatal form of dementia, frequently seen in the elderly altering their cognition, thought process and behavior. AD is reported in about half of patients that have a dementia diagnosis; one study states that about 10.3% of the population over 65 years is affected by dementia with an increase to almost 50% over the age of 85. (Beattie, 2002) Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of the aging process in humans, but rather found in a group of diseases that affect the brain leading to a decline in mental and physical control. AD when diagnosed has a very slow and gradual course, initially affecting the individual’s short term memory. (Beattie, 2002)
An estimated 47.5 million people suffer from dementia. Every 4 seconds one new case of dementia is diagnosed. Dementia is a term that describes certain symptoms such as impairment to memory, communication and thinking. It is a group of symptoms and not just one illness. Even though one‘s chance of getting dementia increase with age, it is not a part of aging. Dementia is usually diagnosed after a series of assessments that includes a physical evaluation, memory tests, imaging studies and blood work. It affects three aspects of one’s mental function, cognitive dysfunction (Problems with memory, language, thinking and problem solving), psychiatric behavior (changes in personality, emotional control, social behavior and delusions) and difficulties with daily living activities (driving, shopping, eating and dressing). “The median survival time in women is 4.6 years and in men 4.1 years” (Warren, 2016).
Dementia has many forms and it is a decline in memory, language and reasoning. Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder, meaning the loss of function and stability. This is a disease that affects cognitive and physical abilities in the patient. Many people in the world have Alzheimer’s and it is in elders over the age of 65. There are lots of treatments available, but there is no cure for it.
Dementia, defined by the Alzheimer’s Association, is the overall term for diseases and conditions characterized by a decline in memory or other thinking skills that affects a person’s ability to perform everyday activities. More than 250,000 Americans will develop dementia (including Alzheimer 's) when they are sixty-five or older and at eighty-five the risk of developing Alzheimer’s is fifty percent. Since this disease was found in 1907 by Alois Alzheimer, there have been thousands of dollars, research, and clinical trials put into finding a cure for this horrible disease. This literature review examines the effects of the type of Dementia known as
Scientists found that individuals who kept their brains lively had decreased levels of this protein. Older people with the highest level of brain activity had protein levels equal to those of young people. Those with the lowest levels of brain activity had levels equivalent with Alzheimer’s patients. “Individuals with high cognitive engagement may prevent or slow the deposition of the protein fragments, which influences the progression of Alzheimer’s” (qtd. in Hope). Those who were cognitively active were two times less likely to develop this disease than those who got minimal mental stimulation. Mental stimulation includes games and puzzles such as sudoku which may improve the brain’s ability to remember and retrieve information. Researchers claim that keeping the brain active with reading, writing and crosswords could also help prevent this disease. All learning is based on what is already known, or an association to what is already known. When learning something new, synapses are made which are connections between nerve cells in the brain. Due to this, new synapses are not just being made, but the ones that are already there are being strengthened. Staying busy and socializing with friends and loved ones keep memory sharp by helping maintain the brain’s health and boosting its memory. Mental
Dementia is a disease that does not discriminate against gender, race, or nationality. It affects individuals, their families, and caregivers each day by testing their strength and patience. Within the category of dementia there is a subtype called Multi-Infarct Dementia. MID is a disease that affects around 30% of individuals over the age of sixty-five (Al-Adawi, 2014). The individuals with MID have damage to their brain which causes many different symptoms to occur. When the symptoms are noticed, the specific type of dementia may be hard to diagnose, and the treatments cannot reverse brain damage. As MID progresses, the individual’s cognitive functions deteriorate, so the care and patience these individuals once shared with others will have
Dementia is an extremely common disease among the elderly, with 4 million Americans currently suffering from the Alzheimer’s type alone. Figures show that 3% of people between the ages of 65-74 suffer from the disease, rapidly increasing to 19% for the 75-84 age bracket, and as high as 47% for the over 85s. Therefore, it is easy to see why Dementia is such a large part of many people’s lives, whether they are suffering from the condition themselves, or have an elderly relative who requires full time care just to undertake simple day to day tasks. The disease can be extremely traumatic for the patient and their families, as the person, who may have been extremely lively and bright throughout their
Dementia is a disease that has been characterized as a deficiency of permanent memory which leads to a decrease in recent memory that can interfere with the ability to engage in professional and social activities (Hamdy, Hamdy, Hudgins, & Piotrowski, 2014). Even recent studies have shown that dementia is not a part of the normal aging process, it has become a very serious and common condition among the older population. An estimated 35.6 million people, with 7.7 million cases diagnosed each year are affected with dementia according to the World Health Organization (WHO) (Hamdy, Hamdy, Hudgins, & Piotrowski, 2014).
“Dementia is characterized by chronic, global, non-reversible deterioration in memory, executive function, and personality. Speech and motor functions may also be impaired” (Butler and Radhakrishnan, 2011). As defined by Butler and Radharkrishnan, dementia is a disease that affects a person for their whole life. In the next part of this paper, I’m going to talk about the dementia and the effects it has on a person live whether it is with the symptoms, overall experience with it, and what exactly it does to the body. Dementia isn’t a fun disease to have or deal with. According to the World of Health Organization, over 35 million people have dementia (Robitaille, Garcia, & McIntosh, 2015). I’m mainly going to talk about the specific type of dementia Alzheimer’s. “Alzheimer’s disease is defined as a type of dementia characterized by an onset and slow deterioration, and involves impairments in memory, speech, personality, and executive function”(Butler and Radharkrishnan, 2011). Memory loss isn’t just the only thing that happens with dementia. They also experience impairments in language, communication, focus, and reasoning (Ellis, 2013).
Dementia is a disease becoming more common in today’s world and affecting more people. Dementia is a problem in elderly adults because it impacts all members of a family, it can lead to other medical conditions, and there is no cure.
The incidence of dementia increases as the general population ages and one source estimates approximately two billion individuals being affected by the year 2050 (Vasionyte & Madison, 2013). The nature of dementia results in cognitive decline that may lead to inappropriate behaviors, such as aggression, agitation, mood disorders, and eating problems, which can be a severe impairment when treating these patients