Dementia

Causes changes in mood, judgment, personality, and makes it difficult to communicate or deal with everyday tasks. Usually worsens over time, which means you have to rely on other people more and more.

Dementia rarely can begin as early as 40 and affects about one in 20 people over 65 have dementia. At the age of 80 one in five are affected.

Types of dementia


Alzheimer's disease is the most common dementia. The damaged tissue accumulates in the brain and forms deposits called 'plaques' and 'knots' that cause cells to die around them. It affects chemicals in the brain that transmit messages from one cell to another.

Vascular dementia, where the arteries that supply blood to the brain become blocked leading to minor knocks, when parts of the brain die, and who are deprived of oxygen.

Dementia with Lewy bodies is caused by deposits of small proteins in the brain and the symptoms are very similar to Parkinson's disease

Frontotemporal dementia is caused by damage to the front of the brain and is more likely to cause changes in personality

Many other diseases can cause dementia. Physical illnesses that cause memory problems are:
Kidney, liver or thyroid problems.
The shortage of certain vitamins (although this is rare).
Chest infections or urine can be confusing and can be treated with antibiotics.
Rarer conditions such as Huntington's disease, which causes dementia in younger people.

Depression can cause a "pseudo-dementia", which can improve with antidepressants and talk therapy.



Symptoms of dementia


The condition usually develops slowly. There are three main types of symptoms may occur:
Cognitive problems - becomes more difficult to understand, remember, think, doing sums, learn new things, talk or make judgments
Functional problems - becomes hard to do complicated tasks. As time passes, it becomes more difficult to do the basic task of care such as washing and dressing.
Emotional problems - his mood can change, you may lose control of your emotions, stop doing things you love and miss people.



Treatment of dementia


If you're worried about your memory, see your doctor. He or she can perform a simple memory test, physically examine you and order blood tests. You may be referred to a specialist team to test your memory with more detail and arrange a brain scan, if necessary.

There are no cures, so far, for many of these conditions and treatment depends on the diagnosis. A group of drugs called protease inhibitors of acetyl-cholinesterase may slow the progression of Alzheimer's dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies and another drug called memantine, a blocker of glutamate, may protect brain cells against damage.

Vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease possibly, other drugs may be useful to stop the damage to brain cells and thus brain function, including:
aspirin
Medications to control high blood pressure
Cholesterol-lowering treatments such as statins

There is a small amount of evidence that the herb ginkgo biloba and possibly vitamin E may help slow the progression of the disease is also important to stop smoking, eat healthy and exercise.

Discuss any concerns you have with your doctor, nurse or social worker mental health. Charities like the Alzheimer's Society are also a useful source of advice. They can help you understand more about the disease with medicine tips, care options, benefits and legal aspects


BBC