Sundowner's Syndrome Case Study

Dementia is a terminal illness; and patients with advanced dementia suffer from distressing symptoms, just like people with other terminal decease, such as cancer.

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s are hardly ever the same for any one patient. Although the side effects of Alzheimer’s can result in the similar symptoms, such as memory loss, cognitive impairment, difficulty focusing, and taking care of ones self can be an outcome for most patients. Many will have a different personality, loss of sight, sense of smell, as well as no longer being able to taste (Medicine).

Dementia Syndrome is a condition caused by a set of symptoms. These symptoms can include but are not limited to: - memory loss, mood changes, communication difficulties, difficulty understanding or thinking.

dementia may not necessarily always be forgetful, their memory may remain intact but their personality and behaviour could be noticeably changed. However the level of ability and disability depends on an individuals age and condition of dementia, people who are living with dementia in earlier age such as 60's-70's are less likely to be as dependable on others than people living with dementia at the age

Most people have never had the privilege to meet a child living with Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome, SLOS for short. In fact, most people have never even heard of the disease. I have been able to spend time with a SLOS child and her wonderful family for the past 4 years. Audrey Bowers is a beautiful 5 year old girl who is severely impaired due to her genetic condition. SLOS is a rare metabolic disorder caused by a mutation in a gene found on chromosome 11. This specific gene corresponds to an enzyme that aids in the production of cholesterol within the body (Smith). Children with SLOS, like Audrey, are unable to produce enough cholesterol which leads to significant deficits in mental and physical development.

People with dementia have symptoms that can vary throughout the week or even day. They will have times when they perform well, and others when they will have more problems. Fatigue is the biggest enemy of the person with memory loss. People with brain diseases tire easily because they must concentrate so hard all the time. For many, the late afternoon and early evening hours can be the most challenging due to fatigue, a condition often referred to as "sundowning."

Alzheimer 's disease causes 50% to 60% of all cases of dementia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke). In addition, researchers have found that two other nervous system conditions, Lewy body disease and Pick 's disease, which were originally incorrectly diagnosed as Alzheimer 's, are emerging as major causes of dementia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke). Dementia is considered a late-life disease because it tends to develop mostly in elderly people; as many as half of all people over the age of eighty are suspected of suffering from Alzheimer 's disease (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke).

The term ‘dementia’ describes a set of symptoms which can include loss of memory, mood changes and problems with communication and reasoning. These symptoms occur when the brain is damaged by certain conditions and diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. 
Age is the greatest risk factor for dementia. Dementia affects one in 14 people over the age of 65 and one in six over the age of 80. However, dementia is not restricted to older people: in the UK, there are over 17,000 people under the age of 65 with dementia, although this figure is likely to be an underestimate.

Depression, memory problems, and delirium may be mistaken for dementia because these are often the onset symptoms of dementia, and therefore may be mistaken for the start of dementia in the elderly.

Alzheimer's being the most common form of dementia, an is a scary disease I would not wish on anyone. My grandpa suffered from the disease, and it was like a roller coasters. I agree you it does hurt to see one go through it one a daily basis with so many mood changes.

     Sundowning, or sundown syndrome are terms that have been used for over 20 years to describe the reversal of day and night which often occurs in Alzheimer's and other dementing illnesses. (2) Those who are impacted are often called Sundowners and they act as if their biological clocks have reversed their day and night cycles. Some are able to function on little sleep throughout their 24-hour day cycle. Some individuals stay up all night and will then continually doze off during the day. This alteration in the sleep-wake cycle is not necessarily permanent and they may revert to earlier patterns of sleep, or may sleep for increasing periods of time. (1)

Memory problems are usually the most obvious symptom in people with dementia. For example, a person with early stages of dementia might go to the shops and then cannot remember what they wanted. It is also common to misplace objects. As dementia progresses, sometimes memory loss for recent events is severe and the person may appear to be living in the past. They may think of themselves as young and not recognise their true age.

According to Web MD several things can cause dementia diseases that causes degeneration or loss of nerve cells. Diseases that affect blood vessels like strokes, toxic reaction like excessive alcohol drinking or drug use. Especially a head injury can cause dementia. Dementia usually occurs in a older age. It is rare in people under the age of 60. The risk of dementia increases as a person gets older.

These relate to the age at which the disease first manifests itself. The occasion of early-onset is much lower than that of late-onset. There is a 10% occurrence rate for persons over the age of sixty-five, and a 50% occurrence rate for those over age eighty five. Late-onset Alzheimer's is often confused with senility due to old-age. This also makes diagnosis difficult for older patients. However Alzheimer's is not an inevitable part of the aging process, unlike a certain amount of senility. It can be helped and with new research may be prevented.

Dementia is also part of the aging brain. One in seven people ages 71 and older has dementia, but that figure rises to