What is Dementia? What Causes Dementia? Symptoms of Dementia

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Main Category: Alzheimer's / Dementia
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience;  Psychology / Psychiatry;  Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 13 Mar 2009 - 6:00 PST

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The word dementia comes from the Latin de meaning "apart" and mens from the genitive mentis meaning "mind". Dementia is the progressive deterioration in cognitive function - the ability to process thought (intelligence).

Progressive means the symptoms will gradually get worse. The deterioration is more than might be expected from normal aging and is due to damage or disease. Damage could be due to a stroke, while an example of a disease might be Alzheimer's.

Dementia is a set of signs and symptoms

Dementia is a non-specific syndrome in which affected areas of brain function may be affected, such as memory, language, problem solving and attention. Dementia, unlike Alzheimer's, is not a disease in itself. When dementia appears the higher mental functions of the patient are involved initially. Eventually, in the later stages, the person may not know what day of the week, month or year it is, he may not know where he is, and might not be able to identify the people around him.

Dementia is significantly more common among elderly people. However, it can affect adults of any age.

What are the symptoms of dementia?

As the dementia progresses, the patient's ability to carry out everyday tasks diminishes and he may not be able to look after himself.

Diseases that cause dementia

There are two main categories of dementia

According to most experts, there are two main categories of dementia - cortical and subcortical dementias. A patient with multi-infarct dementia will have both the cortical and subcortical parts of the brain affected or damaged.

Diagnosis of dementia

Although there are some brief tests, a more reliable diagnosis needs to be carried out by a specialist, such as a geriatric internist, geriatric psychiatrist, neurologist, neuropsychologist or geropsychologist.

The following tests are commonly used: It is important that the patient's score is interpreted in context with his socio-economic, educational and cultural background. The tester must also factor in the patient's present physical and mental state - does the patient suffer from depression, is he in great pain?

What is the treatment for dementia?

In the majority of cases dementia is incurable. Researchers are making inroads into treatments that may slow down dementia's progress. Cholinestaerase inhibitors are frequently administered during the early stages. Cognitive and behavioral therapies may also be useful. Several studies have found that music therapy helps patients with dementia. It is important to remember that the patient's caregiver also needs training and emotional support.

In the USA, Tacrine (Cognex), donepezil (Aricept), galantamine (Razadyne), and rivastigmine (Exelon) have been approved for the treatment of dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease - some physicians prescribe these drugs for vascular dementia as well. Selegiline, which is used for treating Parkinson's disease, has been found to slow down the progress of dementia.

In Canada, a country where two languages are spoken, English and French, researchers found that bilingual people who develop dementia do so four years later than monolingual people who develop dementia. The four year difference prevails even after factoring for such variables as cultural differences, education, employment, gender and immigration.

How common is dementia?

Written by Christian Nordqvist

View drug information on ARICEPT; Exelon; Selegiline tablets.

Copyright: Medical News Today
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The Alzheimer's Society (UK), NIH, Wikipedia, The Lancet
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Alzheimer's / Dementia

What is Dementia?

The word dementia comes from the Latin de meaning "apart" and mens from the genitive mentis meaning "mind". Dementia is the progressive deterioration in cognitive function - the ability to process thought (intelligence). Read more...

What Is Alzheimer's Disease?

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurologic disease of the brain leading to the irreversible loss of neurons and the loss of intellectual abilities, including memory and reasoning. Read more...

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