Dementia Dementia isn’t a specific disease. Instead, dementia describes a group of symptoms affecting thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily functioning. Dementia involves damage of nerve cells in the brain, which may occur in several areas of the brain. Dementia may affect people differently, depending on the area of the brain affected. The factors that causes this disease that you can’t change, they are age, family history, down syndrome.
Sometimes I think we all would like to change one or two of these. But sorry to say we can’t. Now here are some factors that we can control and change in our life that can cause this disease alcohol use, smoking, obesity, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, high estrogen levels, homocysteine blood vessels, and atherosclerosis. Now I know you are thinking how in the world can, I control these things. It is called seeing a family physician and having regular check-up done and testing. Preventive Care I believe is what this is called.
Dementia symptoms vary depending on the cause, but common signs and symptoms include: Memory loss, difficulty with complex tasks, hallucinations, paranoia, inability to reason, problems with disorientation, such as getting lost, difficulty communicating, personality changes, agitations, difficulty with coordination and motor functions, inappropriate behavior, and difficulty with planning and organizing. Wow with all these symptoms how in the world would they be able diagnose anything. Some of this sound just like Alzheimers.
How is Dementia acquired: Referring to a medical condition occurring after birth and not inherent. “Predisposition: A tendency to be affected by a particular disease or condition, Abnormality: Physical abnormality as a disease risk factor, Inherited: Transmitted through genes that have been passed from parents to their offspring, Inherited disease: a disease or disorder that is inherited genetically, Inherited disorder: a disease or disorder that is inherited genetically. ” Steps to diagnosis There is no single test that can show whether a person has Alzheimer’s.
While physicians can almost always determine if a person has dementia, it may be difficult to determine the exact cause. Diagnosing Alzheimer’s requires careful medical evaluation, including: •A thorough medical history •Mental status testing •A physical and neurological exam •Tests (such as blood tests and brain imaging) to rule out other causes of dementia-like symptoms Alzheimer’s is diagnosed through a complete medical assessment. If you or a loved one have concerns about memory loss or other symptoms of Alzheimer’s or dementia, it is important to be evaluated by a physician.
So from what I am gathering they use the same steps in diagnosing a patient with Alzheimers as Dementia. I also found that there is, different kinds of Dementia which I did not know. The types that I have found are Cortical dementia, Subcortical Dementia, Progressive Dementia, Primary Dementia, and also Secondary Dementia. “Some types of dementia fit into more than one of these classifications. For example, AD is considered both a progressive and a cortical dementia. ” Now the real question is how to treat Dementia. I am going to look and see what I can find.
Talk to the treating physician about the dementia. Try to learn as much as you can about the cause of it — dementia can be caused by many different conditions. Investigate the side effects of any medication the patient may be on; many drugs have the effect of increasing confusion, including painkillers and central nervous system depressants. Consider an assisted living center if you fear the patient will cause harm to themselves or others. There are centers specifically set up to help patients of dementia and their families cope with this condition.
Ignore erratic behavior if possible; reward ‘appropriate’ behavior. Surround the patient with familiar objects to help them feel calm and secure. Consider drug therapy to help control dementia. These can range from mood stabilizers to anti-psychotics. Some trial and error may be needed to find the best combination and dosage. www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov › NCBI › Literature www. medicinenet. com › … › alzheimer’s a-z list › dementia index www. mayoclinic. com › … › Diseases and Conditions.