Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease

Dementias

The term, “Dementia,” often receives the blame for any type of condition associated with memory impairment. However, problems with memory can stem from trauma, stroke, amnesia, drug interactions, and many medical conditions unrelated to dementia or age-related senility. Furthermore, most people believe that dementia and senility are the same thing, but they’re not. Senility is the normal physical and mental slowing down that normally occurs as we age. Dementia is a brain malfunction.

When dementia occurs, it’s progressive. What begins as a minor annoyance becomes progressively worse until the person is unable to function independently. Signs of dementia usually include some of the following:

Short-term memory loss
Difficulty with paying bills
Continually forgetting to do common activities such as making meals, going to appointments after reminders, and getting lost in general community settings.
Confusion
Inability to communicate
Inability to learn new things
Language problems
Paranoia
Repeating questions
Trouble with reasoning
Wandering or getting lost

Some of the more common forms of Dementia include the following:

Alzheimer’s Disease –The most common form of Dementia. With Alzheimer’s, the nerves in the brain become tangled, form plaques, and lose their connections to other nerves reducing overall brain function and even size.

Vascular Dementia – Damage from blocked or decreased blood flow to the brain tissue causes Vascular Dementia, the second most common type of Dementia and is often related to strokes.

Dementia with Lewy bodies – As brain tissue breaks down, abnormal protein deposits form called Lewy bodies. These protein bodies create the symptoms of Dementia.

Frontotemporal Dementia – As the nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain die, the brain shrinks, resulting in Dementia.

Mild Cognitive Impairment – Mild decline in a person’s ability to think, make decisions, remember, speak clearly, use language correctly, etc., but the decline is not so severe that it interferes with regular activities.

Mixed Dementia – A combination of symptoms caused by Alzheimer’s Disease and Vascular Dementia.

Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s accounts for 60-80% of all Dementia cases. It is the most common and rapidly progressing form of Dementia. Though memory loss is mild in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, by the later stages, many individuals lose their ability to carry on a conversation or respond to their environment. While some individuals live as long as 20 years after diagnosis, most die within four to eight years. Alzheimer’s is the 6^th leading cause of death in the United States.

10 Early Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia

If you or someone you know experiences any of the following, seeing the advice of a medical professional familiar with memory disorders is recommended. Forgetting information recently learned, important dates, and events, asking the same question repetitively.

Demonstrating increasing difficulty with following a plan, problem-solving, and completing a sequential task.
Difficulty completing familiar tasks, driving to known locations, and remembering the rules of a game they previously knew how to play.
Confusion with the concept of the passage of time or recognizing places (i.e., keeping track of the date, season, the holiday).
Difficulty with dept perception is due to the inability to determine the difference between contrasting colors or recognizing special relationships. As a result, driving becomes risky and participating in other activities requiring depth decisions can lead to accidents.
New problems with words in speaking or writing, such as having trouble following a conversation. May repeat what has been said by someone else as new information; believes new information they bring is new to everyone. Uses the wrong word for objects.
Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps. Forgets what they did with things and accuses someone of stealing them.
Decreased or poor judgment taking risks where they shouldn’t.
Withdrawal from work or social activities due to difficulty in holding conversations.
Changes in mood and personality such as exhibiting frequent confusion, suspicion, depression, fearfulness, or anxiety, are common.

As the condition progresses, you may also see personality and behavior changes. The person you once knew may no longer seem to be the one you’re now seeing every day. With Alzheimer’s portions of the brain die causing loss of function and personality changes as the individual learns to cope and adjust to life in new ways. Someone who once was mild mannered, polite, and professional may become angry, use foul language, or even become violent. It’s important to remember that the person cannot control the change that is occurring in their life. What they say and do is not personally directed at you or anything from their past. What happens is in the moment and beyond their control.