Dementia

Types of Dementia

Dementia is the general term for the pattern of symptoms indicative of the destruction of neurons in the brain. Many different types of degenerative diseases can result in the onset of dementia and the associated progressive degeneration that can affect one’s attention span, memory, motor control and overall intellectual capacity including personality. Types of dementia can result from Alzheimer’s dementia, Huntington’s disease, vascular dementia and senile dementia.

Dementia Symptoms

The early signs of dementia are highly variable. Dementia symptoms at the early onset of dementia can include forgetfulness and subtle loss of memory. These signs of early onset dementia may be very subtle as social skills and behavior patterns can remain intact. As the disease progresses it is characterized by gradual loss of cognitive function and forgetfulness is demonstrated in many daily activities. Other signs and symptoms of dementia can include impulsive behavior, deterioration of speaking skills and possible personality changes such as unexplained depression or paranoia may be exhibited.

Dementia Stages

In the initial dementia stages patients will tend to appear normal. Small lapses in memory may occur and the patient may have difficulty in performing ordinary daily tasks. As the disease progresses to the intermediate stages of dementia speaking skills can deteriorate and the ability to formulate concepts and think abstractly gradually fades away. In the final dementia stages, patients will have need assistance with almost all aspects of daily living.

Dementia Treatment

As dementia is an irreversible degenerative neurological disease, dementia treatment will focus on dementia care. Dementia caregivers will involve themselves in supporting a patient’s cognitive functions and promoting their physical safety. Patients should be provided with a suitably safe and predictable environment to minimize disorientation and confusion. The right environment for dementia care permits for patients to move about freely and also relieves family worries about their loved-one’s safety. Apart from daily dementia care activities, some established and newer drugs for dementia may slow the progression of the disease but no current drug treatment for dementia is known to entirely halt or cure the disease.