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Dementia

Dementia is caused by the brain’s inability to perform its cognitive functions, which include decision making and judgment; logic and reasoning; verbal communication; and memory. It is associated with aging, affecting up to 8% of people over 65 years old, doubling to 16% for those over 70, and 32% for those over 75. This is caused by the natural deterioration of brain cells over time.

Dementia can also be caused by degenerative neurological disorders like Alzheimer's Disease; vascular disorders like multi-infarct disease; infectious diseases like HIV or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; substance abuse; or brain tumors and head trauma. These conditions prematurely destroy brain cells or impair the body’s ability to send and interpret its signals.

Symptoms of dementia include memory loss, aphasia (inability to remember and use words correctly), and apraxia (inability to perform motor activities), and agnosia (inability to recognize objects). The symptoms tend to worsen over time.

Because of dementia’s similarity to other mental disorders such as delirium, several tests are often used to confirm diagnosis. This includes neuropsychological tests, blood tests, EEG, CT scan, and MRI scan. Doctors will prescribe treatment depending on the cause of dementia.

Web Resources On Dementia

Dementia.com
The Dementia Research Centre

Book Resources On Dementia

When Your Loved One Has Dementia : A Simple Guide for Caregivers by Joy A. Glenner et. al.
The Dementias: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Research by Weiner & Lipton (Editors)

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