The human brain is the most complex organ in the body, the seat of who human beings are, and what they are. In the early 1800s, German physician Franz Joseph Gall suggested that different parts of the brain control specific aspects of behavior. Functions such as movement, memory, speech, and the overall behavior are controlled by localized parts of the brain. Unfortunately, recent research indicates that as people age, various mental skills decline at different rates. Furthermore, one of the mental diseases that affect mostly older people is dementia. Dementia is a syndrome (a group of related symptoms) associated with an ongoing decline of the brain and its abilities (1). It describes a set of symptoms that result in different types and treatments. …show more content…
Some of them are far more common than others. They are often named after the condition that has cause the dementia. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Other causes might include injury or other diseases such as vascular dementia, dementia with lewy bodies, and a lot more. In rare cases, people with Parkinson’s disease, motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, and Huntington’s disease have an increased chance of developing dementia. Additionally, depending on the type of dementia, the symptoms can vary greatly. The most common symptom of dementia is memory loss, but there are far more other symptoms of dementia such as impairments in communication, language, focus, reasoning and judgment. Moreover, most types of dementia can’t be cured completely as They are progressive causing the brain cells to damage and die over time. But, early diagnosis helps to control the symptoms and slow them down. Different drugs are prescribed for different types of dementia. They can improve the symptoms, and some can stop the symptoms temporarily. A person with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease or mixed dementia may be prescribed donepezil (often known by the brand name Aricept), rivastigmine (eg Exelon) or galantamine (eg Reminyl). Donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine can be helpful for someone with dementia with Lewy bodies who has distressing hallucinations or delusions, or who has behaviours that challenge(2). For a person with vascular dementia, drugs will be offered to treat the underlying conditions. These conditions often include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or heart problems
There are several causes of dementia some of them are; a stroke, brain disease, MS, certain medications, shrinkage of the brain, too many opiates over a long period of time and severe alcoholism
During the onset of the disease, symptoms are usually non-existant, and progress slowly over the course of many years, often going unnoticed until they become more severe. Alzheimer's is somewhat difficult to diagnose, but there are some common symptoms to all patients. Memory loss occurs in all patients. The person may have trouble remembering small things such as phone numbers, or where he/she put the keys. Eventually, short term memory is lost, and only memories in the far past are able to be recalled. People with Alzheimer's can become disoriented and can get lost easily when out on their own. Mood changes also occur, and the person can be easily irritated or agitated by seemingly insignificant things. Cognitive deterioration also occurs, with the person losing the ability to understand spoken language or recall the meanings of different words (Grayson, "Recognizing Alzheimer's" 1). Despite these common symptoms, making a diagnosis is difficult since Alzheimer's patientscan display the same symptoms as a head injury or depression.
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.
3.1 Outline causes of dementia. Dementia is caused by damage or loss of the cells of the brain and affects different cognitive functions depending on the area of the affected brain. There are many diseases which can cause dementia, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and also if someone has had a brain injury. 3.2 Describe the signs and symptoms of dementia. Problems with thinking or memory: they are unable to remember things that have happened recently, low
Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body disease, a series of strokes or even a group of symptoms which may result from brain injury, vitamin/hormonal imbalance, drugs and alcohol. These diseases have factors in common and can cause a person to have their mental
The definition of Dementia is “a general term for loss of memory and other mental abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life. It is caused by physical changes in the brain.” (Common Types of Dementia, 2012). The first manifestations of Dementia
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.
There are many disease processes that culminate in the onset of dementia; the most common of which is Alzheimer’s disease. The syndrome is frequently associated with a progressive decline in brain function and the associated physical and mental abilities, including memory, language and cognitive function.
There are many diseases that result in dementia. The most common types of dementia are Alzheimer’s disease; vascular dementia; Pick’s disease; dementia with Lewy bodies (Fronto-Temporal); Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD); Huntington’s disease.
Dementia is more likely to develop as people get older; it is also thought that it may be hereditary and that there is a link between different genes. Dementia is not a normal process of getting old. It is caused by diseases that affect the brain and kill brain cells. Research is starting to show that there may be other risk factors that are influenced by our lifestyles and health conditions. It is thought that there may be a link between serious head injury and the future risk of dementia so it is important to protect your head.
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.
Dementia is a disorder that leads to a gradual loss of the cognitive capacity of an individual, ultimately affecting one’s daily activities. Dementia does manifests through the accompanying disorders because it does not exist on its own. In other words, dementia is a disorder that comes about through the existence of the related disorders. The main ones are four, but they are not the only disorders that cause dementia. These include Lewy Bodies dementia (LBD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VD). Others include mixed dementia, Huntington’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus and Frontotemporal dementia. According to Ram (2006), these disorders have a broad spectrum of impacts on the patients besides having devastating effects on the overall economy of the world’s nations especially when the number is significantly high. The paper intends to dig out the milestones the dementia disorder has undergone.
Dementia is “The loss of intellectual function, such as thinking and memory, which interferes with daily function. It is not a disease in itself, but a group of symptoms that may accompany a condition, all of which produce a gradual decline in intellectual function and almost always a significant deterioration of memory.”(Health Reference Center)
There are many types of Dementia such as Vascular Dementia, Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Mixed Dementia, Parkinson 's disease, and as mentioned before Alzheimer’s disease. Each form effects the person in a slightly different way and can be hard to diagnose at first.
Dementia is caused when cells in the brain are damaged. This damage can interfere with the ability of brain cells to communicate with each other. When they don't communicate normally, behavior, thinking, and feelings can be affected. Some possible risk factors are family history (with dementia), head trauma, lower education level, and gender (women are more prone). Alcohol, drug abuse, infections (AID's), cardiovascular disease, and head injuries help in the development of dementia.