Originally meaning "madness", from de- "without" + ment, the root of mens "mind". So what is Dementia? Dementia is a brain disease which often starts with memory problems, but goes on to affect many other parts of the brain.
Dementia can rarely start as early as 40 and affects about one in every 20 people over-65 have dementia. By the age of 80 about one in five are affected.
Dementia can rarely start as early as 40 and affects about one in every 20 people over-65 have dementia. By the age of 80 about one in five are affected.
Signs or Symptoms:
* Sometimes It causes changes in mood, judgement, personality, and makes it difficult to communicate or cope with day to day tasks.
* Additional mental and behavioral problems often affect people who have dementia, and may influence quality of life. As dementia worsens individuals may neglect themselves and may become disinhibited, the individual may become incontinent as their condition worsens.
Types of Dementia:
* Alzheimer’s disease is the most common. Damaged tissue builds up in the brain and forms deposits called ‘plaques’ and ‘tangles’ which cause the cells around them to die. It also affects chemicals in the brain which transmit messages from one cell to another.
* Vascular dementia, where the arteries supplying blood to the brain become blocked which leads to small strokes when parts of the brain die as they are starved of oxygen.
* Lewy body dementia is caused by small protein deposits in the brain, and symptoms closely resembles Parkinson’s disease.
* Fronto temporal dementia is caused by damage to the front of the brain and is more likely to cause personality change.
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