Dementia is a general term for decreased mental capacity, severe enough to interfere with daily life.
Memory loss is an example. Definitely, Alzheimer's is the most common type of dementia disease.
Dementia is not a specific disease. It is an overall term that describes a group of symptoms related to memory decline or other thinking abilities that are severely insufficient to reduce a person's ability to perform daily activities.
Talking about Alzheimer's disease, it does accounts for 60% to 80% of cases. It is also necessary for one to know that Vascular dementia after stroke is the second most common type of dementia. But there are many other conditions that can cause dementia symptoms, including some reversible symptoms, such as thyroid disease and vitamin deficiency.
Dementia is often erroneously referred to as "Alzheimer's disease" or "Alzheimer's disease", which reflects the previously common but incorrect belief that severe mental decline is a normal phenomenon of aging.
Signs and Symptoms
Dementia affects everyone in different ways, depending on the impact of the disease and the personality before the illness. The signs and symptoms associated with dementia can be divided into three stages.
Early: The early stages of dementia are often overlooked because the onset is gradual. Common symptoms include:
- forgetful
- Lost time
- Lost in a familiar place.
Mid-term: As dementia progresses to mid-term, signs and symptoms become clearer and stricter. These include:
- Forgot the recent events and the names of people
- Lost at home
- Communication difficulties are getting bigger
- Need help with personal care
- Experience behavioral changes, including wandering and repeated questioning.
Late-stage: The late stage of dementia is almost completely dependent and inactive. Memory impairment is severe, and the physical symptoms and signs become more obvious.
Symptoms Include:
- Don't know time and place
- Difficulty identifying relatives and friends
- The increasing need for assisted self-care
- Difficulty walking
- The experience may escalate and include aggressive behavior changes.
The Reason
Dementia is caused by damage to brain cells. This damage can interfere with the ability of brain cells to communicate with each other. When brain cells cannot communicate normally, thinking, behavior and feeling are all affected.The brain has many different areas, and each area is responsible for different functions (for example, memory, judgment, and movement). When a unit in a specific area is damaged, the area will not perform its functions normally.
Different types of dementia are associated with specific types of brain cell damage in specific areas of the brain. For example, in Alzheimer's disease, certain proteins inside and outside brain cells are high in content, making it difficult for brain cells to maintain health and communicate with each other.
The brain area called the hippocampus is the center of brain learning and memory. The brain cells in this area are usually the first areas to be destroyed. This is why memory loss is usually one of the earliest symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Although most changes in the brain that cause dementia are permanent and worsen over time, if the following conditions are treated or resolved, Thinking and memory problems caused by the following conditions may be improved:
- depression
- Drug side effects
- Excessive use of alcohol
- Thyroid problems
- Vitamin deficiency
Treatment and Care
There is currently no treatment for dementia or to change its progressive course. At various stages of clinical trials, many new therapies are being studied.However, it can provide a lot of support and improve the lives of people with dementia and their caregivers and families.
The main Goals of Dementia Care are:
- An early diagnosis to promote early and optimal management
- Optimize physical health, cognition, activity, and well-being
- Identify and treat accompanying physical diseases
- Detect and treat challenging behavioral and psychological symptoms
- Provide information and long-term support for caregivers.
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