DEFINITION
Dementia encompasses with a range of cognitive impairments, including memory loss and communication difficulties, which arise from various underlying neurodegenerative conditions and brain disorders. It is not a specific disease but rather a broad term that encompasses symptoms of cognitive decline involving memory, communication, and cognitive function.
SYMPTOMS
The following are potential signs of cognitive impairment:
1. Recent memory loss: Indicated by repetitive questioning and difficulty retaining new information.
2. Difficulty completing familiar tasks: Inability to perform routine activities such as preparing meals or making drinks.
3. Problems with communication: Struggling with language, including forgetting common words and experiencing language difficulties.
4. Disorientation: Getting lost in familiar areas or having difficulty navigating known routes.
5. Impaired abstract thinking: Difficulty with complex mental tasks, such as managing finances.
6. Misplacing items: Forgetting the location of everyday items like keys or wallets.
7. Mood and personality changes: Abrupt and unexplained shifts in mood, attitude, or behavior.
8. Loss of initiative: Decreased motivation and a lack of interest in initiating activities.
TYPES OF DEMENTIA
There are several types of dementia, including:
# Alzheimer’s disease is identified by the presence of “plaques” between dying brain cells and “tangles” within the cells, both caused by protein abnormalities. This results in a decrease in nerve cells and connections, leading to progressive shrinkage of the brain tissue in individuals with Alzheimer’s.
# Dementia with Lewy bodies is a neurodegenerative condition that linked to abnormal structures of the brain. The brain changes that involve a protein called alpha-synuclein.
# Mixed dementia occurs when a person is diagnosed with two or three types of dementia at the same time. For example, an individual may exhibit symptoms of both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia simultaneously.
# the presence of Lewy bodies also marks Parkinson’s disease. Although Parkinson’s is often considered a movement disorder, it can also result in dementia symptoms.
Specific types of uncontrolled movements characterize v Huntington’s disease but also include dementia.
# Frontotemporal dementia, also known as Pick’s disease.
CAUSES OF DEMENTIA
However, it is not known if dementia causes brain cell death or brain cell death causes dementia.
REVERSIBLE
v medication interactions
v depression
v vitamin deficiencies
v thyroid abnormalities.
IRREVERSIBLE
v Vascular dementia (also called multi-infarct dementia) – Cerebrovascular disease, such as stroke, can lead to brain cell death due to impaired blood flow, resulting in oxygen deprivation for the brain cells.
v Injury– post-traumatic dementia is directly related to brain cell death caused by injury.
v Repetitive trauma-, such as those received by sports players – have been linked to certain dementias appearing later in life, such as Punch Drunk Syndrome in boxers
v Alzheimer’s disease
v Normal pressure hydrocephalus when excess amount cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain.
v Posterior cortical atrophy resembles changes in Alzheimer’s disease but in a different part of the brain.
v Down syndrome increases the likelihood of young-onset Alzheimer’s
TREATABLE
v Head injury
v Stroke,
v Brain tumor.
v Prion diseases – for instance, CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease).
v HIV infection – how the virus damages brain cells is not sure, but it is known to occur.
TREATMENT
- Careful nursing
- Prevention of domestic accident
- Nutritional balance
- Infection management
- Treatment of all co-morbidity
