Dementia in the Elderly
Memory loss and inability to do every day tasks is often considered a part of ageing. However if daily life becomes difficult due to the forgetting and loss of ability, then it may be that these are due to dementia. Dementia is not a disease, it is just an umbrella term for the symptoms that stem from the brain's inability to work normally. The underlying cause of Dementia needs to be determined by a doctor. Often Dementia may be caused by curable diseases or by deficiencies that can be addressed.
Causes of Dementia |
Symptoms of Dementia |
|
Alzheimer's Disease. This is the most common cause of dementia after 60 years of age. There is also a rarer variant of Early Onset which is seen in younger people. Alzheimer's disease mostly begins with memory loss and mild cognitive impairment, progressing to full dependence and death. Read more...
Vascular Dementia. In vascular dementia, cells in the brain are damaged because of problems with their blood supply. The cells do not get enough oxygen and die. This may happen due to a stroke, or due to diseases that lead to reduced flow of blood to the brain cells. The symptoms depend upon which part of the brain is damaged. This is the second most common reason for dementia. Lewy Body Dementia: Clumps of protein develop in the brain, causing memory loss, problems in thinking, sleep disturbances, hallucinations and uncontrolled muscle movements. There are over a hundred diseases that may cause dementia. In some cases there may be a mixed dementia, caused by more than one disease being present. |
There is no fixed way in which dementia will appear, the signs will be different in each person. In order to understand what may happen, the progress of the disease can be described in three stages, though symptoms may actually appear at any point.
Early stage: The symptoms in the first stages may often be ignored. The following may be seen:
|