What is dementia?
Dementia isn’t one disease, it’s a general definition that encloses a group of certain medical conditions whose symptoms are common to many brain diseases.
Dementia causes the loss of cognitive functioning — thinking, language, memory, decision-making, and problem-solving skills — and in addition, some diagnosed patients cannot control their emotions, and their personalities may change. This is often also a progressive disease, and it ranges in severity from the mildest stage, when it’s just starting to affect a person’s functioning, to the foremost severe stage, when the patient must depend completely on others for basic activities of living.
Dementia is more common as people get older (about one-third of all people aged 85 or older may have some kind of dementia) but it’s not a standard process of aging. Many folks live into their 90s and beyond with no signs of it.
What causes dementia?
The causes of dementia can vary, counting on the kinds of brain changes that will be going down. While research has found that some changes within the brain are linked to certain types of dementia, in most cases, the underlying causes are unknown. Rare genetic mutations may cause dementia in a relatively small number of individuals.
Although there’s no proven prevention, in general, leading a healthy lifestyle may help reduce risk factors related to these diseases.
What are the signs and symptoms of dementia?
Signs and symptoms of dementia result when once-healthy neurons, or nerve cells, within the brain close up, lose connections with other brain cells, and die. While everyone loses some neurons as they age, people with dementia experience far greater loss.
The symptoms of dementia can vary and will include:
• Experiencing cognitive state, poor judgment, and confusion
• Difficulty speaking, understanding, and expressing thoughts, or reading and writing
• Wandering and getting lost in a familiar neighborhood
• Trouble handling money responsibly and paying bills
• Repeating questions
• Using unusual words to discuss familiar objects
• Taking longer to finish normal daily tasks
• Losing interest in normal daily activities or events
• Hallucinating or experiencing delusions or paranoia
• Acting impulsively
• Not caring about other people’s feelings
• Losing balance and problems with movement
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities also can develop dementia as they age and recognizing their symptoms will be particularly difficult. It’s important to contemplate a person’s current abilities and to observe for changes over time that would signal dementia.
Types of Dementia:
As stated before, the term “dementia” enfolds a range of diseases, from one of the foremost common ones, Alzheimer’s disease, to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rear condition protein related. Here we explain the bases of all of them.
Alzheimer’s Disease
Experts think between 60% to 80% of individuals with dementia have this disease. quite 5 million Americans are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It’s what the majority consider once they hear “dementia.”
If someone you recognize has Alzheimer’s, you’ll notice symptoms like state of mind and trouble planning and doing familiar tasks.
The symptoms are mild initially but decline over a variety of years. Your friend or relative might:
• Be confused about where they’re or what day or year it’s
• Have problems speaking or writing
• Lose things and be unable to backtrack to seek out them
• Show poor judgment
• Have mood and personality changes
Vascular Dementia
If a relative or friend of yours gets this sort of dementia, it has always been because they had a significant stroke, or one or smaller, “silent” strokes, which may happen without them realizing it.
The symptoms rely on which part of their brain was plagued by the stroke.
While Alzheimer’s usually begins with memory problems, vascular dementia more often begins with poor judgment or trouble planning, organizing, and making decisions.
Other symptoms may include:
• Memory problems that disrupt your loved one’s standard of living
• Trouble speaking or understanding speech
• Problems recognizing sights and sounds that wont to be familiar
• Being confused or agitated
• Changes in personality and mood
• Problems walking and having frequent falls
Dementia With Lewy Bodies (DLB)
Lewy bodies are microscopic deposits of a protein that form in some people’s brains. They’re named after the scientist who discovered them.
If someone you recognize gets DLB, it’s because these deposits have formed within the part of the brain called the cortex.
The symptoms include:
• Problems thinking, making decisions, or being attentive
• Memory trouble
• Seeing things that are not there, called visual hallucinations
• Unusual sleepiness during the day
• Periods of “blanking out” or staring
• Problems with movement, including trembling, slowness, and trouble walking
• Dreams where you act out physically, including, talking, walking, and kicking
Parkinson’s Disease Dementia
People with systema nervosum disorder brain disorder get this kind of dementia about 50% to 80% of the time. On average, the symptoms of dementia develop about 10 years after an individual first gets Parkinson’s.
This type is incredibly almost like DLB. they need identical symptoms, and folks with both conditions have signs of Lewy bodies in their brains.
Mixed Dementia
This is a mix of two kinds of dementia. the foremost common combination is Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia.
Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)
If your honey has an FTD, they need to develop cell damage in areas of the brain that control planning, judgment, emotions, speech, and movement.
Someone with FTD may have:
• Personality and behavior changes
• Sudden lack of inhibitions in personal and social situations
• Problems developing with the proper words for things when speaking
• Movement problems, like shakiness, balance problems, and muscle spasms
Huntington’s Disease
This is a nervous disorder caused by a disease that’s passed down through relations. While your beloved might need the gene for chorea at birth, the symptoms don’t usually start to indicate up until they’re between the ages of 30 and 50.
People with Huntington’s get a number of the identical symptoms seen in other kinds of dementia, including problems with:
• Thinking and reasoning
• Memory
• Judgment
• Planning and organizing
• Concentration
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
This is a rare condition during which proteins called prions cause normal proteins within the brain to start out folding into abnormal shapes. The damage results in dementia symptoms that happen suddenly and quickly degenerate.
Your love might have:
• Memory and concentration problems
• Poor judgment
• Confusion
• Mood swings
• Depression
• Sleep problems
• Twitching or jerky muscles
• Trouble walking
Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
This type of dementia is caused by a buildup of fluid within the brain. The symptoms include problems walking, trouble thinking and concentrating, and personality and behavior changes.
Some symptoms may be treated by draining the additional fluid from the brain into the abdomen through an extended, thin tube, called a shunt.
Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome
This disorder is caused by a severe shortage of thiamine (vitamin B-1) within the body. It most typically happens in people that are long-term heavy drinkers.
The dementia symptom that’s most typical with this condition could be a problem with memory. Usually, somebody’s problem-solving and thinking skills aren’t affected.
How is dementia diagnosed?
To diagnose dementia, doctors first assess whether someone has an underlying, potentially treatable, condition that will relate to cognitive difficulties. A physical exam to live pressure and other vital signs, yet as laboratory tests of blood and other fluids to test levels of varied chemicals, hormones, and vitamins, can help uncover or rule out possible causes of symptoms.
A review of a person’s medical and case history can provide important clues about the risk for dementia. Typical questions might include asking about whether dementia runs within the family, how and when symptoms began, changes in behavior and personality, and if the person is taking certain medications that may cause or worsen symptoms.
The following procedures also are accustomed diagnose dementia:
Cognitive and neurological tests. These tests are wont to assess thinking and physical functioning. These include assessments of memory, problem-solving, language skills, and math skills, similarly as balance, sensory response, and reflexes.
Brain scans. These tests can identify strokes, tumors, and other problems which will cause dementia. Scans also identify changes within the brain’s structure and performance. the foremost common scans are:
Computed tomography (CT), which uses X-rays to supply images of the brain and other organs
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), uses magnetic fields and radio waves to supply detailed images of body structures, including tissues, organs, bones, and nerves
Positron emission tomography (PET), which uses radiation to produce pictures of brain activity
- Psychiatric evaluation. This evaluation will help determine if depression or another psychological state condition is causing or contributing to somebody’s symptoms.
- Genetic tests. Some dementias are caused by a person’s genes. In these cases, a genetic test can help people know if they’re in danger of dementia. it’s important to speak with a genetic counselor before and after getting tested, together with members of the family and therefore the doctor.
- Blood tests. it’s now possible for doctors to order a biopsy to live levels of beta-amyloid, a protein that accumulates abnormally in people with Alzheimer’s. Several other blood tests are in development. However, the provision of those diagnostic tests for Alzheimer’s and related dementias remains limited.
Early detection of symptoms is vital, as some causes may be treated. However, in many cases, the reason behind dementia is unknown and can’t be treated. Still, obtaining an early diagnosis can help with managing the condition and planning.Dementia treatment and care
Treatment of dementia depends on its cause. within the case of most progressive dementias, including Alzheimer’s, there’s no cure, but one treatment — aducanumab (Aduhelm™) — is the first therapy to demonstrate that removing amyloid, one in all the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, from the brain is fairly likely to cut back cognitive and functional decline in people living with early Alzheimer’s. Others can temporarily slow the worsening of dementia symptoms and improve the quality of life for those living with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. the identical medications wont to treat Alzheimer’s are among the drugs sometimes prescribed to assist with symptoms of other kinds of dementia. Non-drug therapies also can alleviate some symptoms of dementia.
Ultimately, the trail to effective new treatments for dementia is thru increased research funding and increased participation in clinical studies. Right now, volunteers are urgently needed to participate in clinical studies and trials about Alzheimer’s and other dementias.Risk and prevention:
Some risk factors for dementia, like age and genetics, can not be changed. But researchers still explore the impact of other risk factors on brain health and also the prevention of dementia.
Research reported at the 2019 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference® suggests that adopting multiple healthy lifestyle choices, including a healthy diet, not smoking, regular exercise, and cognitive stimulation may decrease the danger of cognitive decline and dementia.Risk factors that cannot be changed
• Age. the chance rises as you age, especially after age 65. However, dementia isn’t a standard part of aging, and dementia can occur in younger people.
• Family history. Having a case history of dementia puts you at greater risk of developing the condition. However, many of us with a case history never develop symptoms, and plenty of people without a case history do. There are tests to see whether you have got certain genetic mutations.
• Down syndrome. By the time of life, many of us with Down’s syndrome develop early-onset Alzheimers.Risk factors can change
You might be able to control the subsequent risk factors for dementia.
• Diet and exercise. Research shows that lack of exercise increases the chance of dementia. And while no specific diet is understood to cut back dementia risk, research indicates a greater incidence of dementia in those who eat an unhealthy diet compared with those that follow a Mediterranean-style diet rich in produce, whole grains, nu, ts, and seeds.
• Excessive alcohol use. Drinking large amounts of alcohol has long been known to cause brain changes. Several large studies and reviews found that alcohol use disorders were linked to an increased risk of dementia, particularly early-onset dementia.
• Cardiovascular risk factors. These include high force per unit area (hypertension), high cholesterol, the buildup of fats in your artery walls (atherosclerosis), and obesity.
• Depression. Although not yet well-understood, late-life depression might indicate the event of dementia.
• Diabetes. Having diabetes may increase your risk of dementia, especially if it’s poorly controlled.
• Smoking. Smoking might increase your risk of developing dementia and vas diseases.
• Air pollution. Studies in animals have indicated that pollution particulates can speed degeneration of the systema nervosum. And human studies have found that pollution exposure — particularly from traffic exhaust and burning wood — is related to greater dementia risk.
• Head trauma. People who’ve had severe head trauma have a greater risk of Alzheimer’s. Several large studies found that in people aged 50 years or older who had a traumatic brain injury (TBI), the danger of dementia and Alzheimer’s increased. the danger increases in people with more severe and multiple TBIs. Some studies indicate that the chance is also greatest within the primary six months to 2 years after the TBI.
• Sleep disturbances. people that have a sleep disorder and other sleep disturbances can be at higher risk of developing dementia.
• Vitamin and nutritional deficiencies. Low levels of vitamin D, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12, and folate can increase your risk of dementia.
• Medications that will worsen memory. attempt to avoid over-the-counter sleep aids that contain diphenhydramine (Advil PM, Aleve PM) and medications accustomed to treating urinary urgency like oxybutynin (Ditropan XL).
Also, limit sedatives and sleeping tablets, and talk over with your doctor about whether any of the drugs you are taking might make your memory worse.Complications
Dementia can affect many body systems and, therefore, the power to function. Dementia can lead to:
• Poor nutrition. many folks with dementia eventually reduce or stop eating, affecting their nutrient intake. Ultimately, they’ll be unable to chew and swallow.
• Pneumonia. Difficulty swallowing increases the danger of choking or aspirating food into the lungs, which may block breathing and cause pneumonia.
• Inability to perform self-care tasks. As dementia progresses, it can interfere with bathing, dressing, brushing hair or teeth, using the bathroom independently, and taking medications as directed.
• Personal safety challenges. Some day-to-day situations can present issues of safety for people with dementia, including driving, cooking, walking, and, living alone.
• Death. Late-stage dementia leads to coma and death, often from infection.Prevention
There are no sure thanks to preventing dementia, but there are steps you’ll be able to take that may help. More research is required, but it’d be beneficial to try to do the following:
• Keep your mind active. Mentally stimulating activities, like reading, solving puzzles and playing word games, and memory training might delay the onset of dementia and reduce its effects.
• Be physically and socially active. Physical activity and social interaction might delay the onset of dementia and reduce its symptoms. Aim for 150 minutes of exercise per week.
• Quit smoking. Some studies have shown that smoking in time of life and beyond might increase your risk of dementia and vessel conditions. Quitting smoking might reduce your risk and can improve your health.
• Get enough vitamins. Some research suggests that folks with low levels of cholecalciferol in their blood are more likely to develop presenile dementia and other varieties of dementia. you’ll get cholecalciferol through certain foods, supplements, and sun exposure.
More study is required before a rise in fat-soluble vitamin intake is suggested for preventing dementia, but it is a good idea to create sure you get adequate fat-soluble vitamins. Taking daily vitamin B and vitamin C also might help.
• Manage cardiovascular risk factors. Treat high-pressure levels, high cholesterol, and diabetes. slenderize if you’re overweight.
• High pressure might cause a better risk of some varieties of dementia. More research is required to work out whether treating high pressure may reduce the chance of dementia.
• Treat health conditions. See your doctor for treatment for depression or anxiety.
• Maintain a healthy diet. A diet like the Mediterranean diet — rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and omega-3 fatty acids, which are commonly found in certain fish and nuts — might promote health and lower your risk of developing dementia. this kind of diet also improves cardiovascular health, which can help lower dementia risk.
• Get good-quality sleep. Practice good sleep hygiene, and consult with your doctor if you snore loudly or have periods where you stop breathing or gasp during sleep.
• Treat hearing problems. People with hearing impairment have a greater chance of developing cognitive decline. Early treatment of hearing impairment, like the use of hearing aids, might help decrease the chance.
