Dementia

What is Dementia ? 

Dementia is a term for loss of memory, language and other abilities of thinking that interferes with the person's daily life. Alzheimer's is the most common cause of having dementia. A person having dementia may experience different types of diseases including Alzheimer's disease. Different diseases grouped with each other and are called dementia, and are caused by the brain's unusual change. Dementia triggers a lot of cognitive skills and abilities, sometimes severe enough that the person isn’t able to do stuff independently. 

There are different types of dementia including : Alzheimer, Vascular, Lewy body, Frontotemporal and mixed dementia. Vascular dementia occurs when the blood vessels in the brain are blocked or when there is a microbleeding in the blood vessel, and vascular dementia is the 2nd most common dementia to have. Mixed dementia is when you have both the Alzheimer and Vascular or Alzheimer and Lewy body. In some cases there can be all three of the types of dementias causing severe symptoms. Dementia with Lewy bodies is a type of dementia that can lead to problems such as unable to think and independently function. In some cases there can be a change in attention, alertness, having a sleeping disorder and sometimes causing hallucinations. 

Symptoms of Dementia 

The symptoms vary from forgetting small stuff to sometimes forgetting paying your bills. But the symptoms are progressive. If there are any signs of cognitive impairment that worsen throughout the years, you may have a small stage of dementia. If you know someone or feel like you may have cognitive impairment it's better to consult with a doctor. 

Cognitive symptoms : 

- Memory loss : forgetting information and asking repetitively a question, misplacing deferment items. 

- Problem solving : Difficulty solving different tasks, making decisions, can’t follow steps. - Confusion : Losing track of tim, dates and becoming disoriented in places.

Communication and Language 

- Struggle to join conversations 

- Difficulty of finding the right words 

- Difficulty reading and writing

Causes of Dementia 

Dementia is caused because of the brain cells being damaged by different types of diseases. Due to that the brain cells can’t communicate with each other. Inside the brain the brain cells have different regions to manage and these regions are responsible for different functions, for example memory and movement areas are damaged and the brain cells can’t carry their function properly. For example, in Alzheimer's disease, high levels of certain proteins inside and outside brain cells make it hard for brain cells to stay healthy and to communicate with each other. And the area in the brain called Hippocampus gets damaged causing early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. 

Most causes of dementia are caused due to the damage in the brain, some damages can be caused by depression, medications, side effects, Excess use of Alcohol, vitamin deficiencies and inheritance from your parents. 

Sources : https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-dementia