Dementia the global brain injury or some disease?

Dementia the global brain injury or some disease?

Dementia is the loss of cognitive ability in a person either due to the global brain injury or some disease that results in memory loss. If it is occurs before the age of 60 then it is known as early onset dementia. The word dementia comes from a Latin word meaning madness mean memory loss.

Dementia the global brain injury or some disease?

 It can be considered as a non-specific illness syndrome where the areas of brain concerned with memory, language, attention and problem solving are severely affected. About six months are required for the disease to be diagnosed and in later stages the affected persons may become disoriented in time.

 Dementia is the treatable up to a certain degree of disease but as the disease advance the symptoms become incurable. The symptoms of the disease may or may not be reversible and it depends upon the etiology of the disease.

The possibility of complete freedom from the symptoms of dementia is less than 10%. Dementia can be confused with the short-term syndrome delirium if careful assessment of the patient's history is not done as the symptoms are somewhat similar. Depression and psychosis can be used for differentiating dementia and delirium.

 Many types of dementia are known that differing slightly in their symptoms. The symptoms of different types of dementi may overlap, so diagnosis is only done by nuclear brain scanning techniques. Most common types of dementia include Alzheimer's disease, vascular and front temporal dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. A person may suffer from one or more types of dementia simultaneously at a time.

Kinds

Dementia is of different types and the classification is mainly based on the intensity of symptoms whether they can be reversed or areas of brain affected.

1. Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia frequently seen in the age group of 65 years or above. Reports suggest that about 4 million people in the United States are suffering from this disease. About 360,000 new cases of Alzheimer's disease are reported every year and 50,000 Americans die annually. In majority of the individuals the symptoms appear after the age of 60 but the early onset of symptoms is linked to genes.

The disease causes a gradual decline in the cognitive ability of an individual within 7-10 years and nearly all brain functions associated with memory, movement, language, judgment, behavior and abstract thinking are badly affected. Two chief abnormalities of brain are typically associated with Alzheimer's disease namely, amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.

 Amyloid plaques are unusual clumps of protein (beta amyloid) containing degenerating bits of neurons and other cells that are present in the tissues between the nerve cells. Neurofibrillary tangles are bundles of twisted filaments present within the neurons and are chiefly made up of a protein known as tau.

 In healthy neurons tau protein helps in the functioning of microtubules but in this disease they twist to form helical filaments that join in the form of tangles resulting in disintegration of microtubules.

Early symptoms of the disease are identified by memory impairment, subtle changes in personality and judgment inabilities. As the disease progresses, symptoms associated with memory and language become worse and the individual finds difficulty in performing daily activities.

 Individuals may often suffer from visuo-spatial problems like difficulty in navigating an unfamiliar route, may become disoriented about time and places, even suffer from delusions may become short tempered and hostile.

 In late stages the person loses his control over motor functions and may feel difficulty in swallowing, lose bowel and bladder control. They also lose ability to recognize family members. Person's emotions and behavior get affected in later stages and he may also develop symptoms of aggression, agitation, depression and delusions.

 A person survives for 8-10 years after the disease diagnosis but some may live for about 20 years or more. Individuals may often die due to aspiration pneumonia as they lose the ability to swallow food.

What is Cognitive Dementia?

Cognitive dementia is the loss of mental ability. The loss of the ability to think , remember and reason about anything. To earn the label of Cognitiv dementia, the mental loss must get in the way of carrying out day-to-day activities. The person reduced the ability to fulfill day-to-day events must last for more than six months.

Cognitive dementia is not a disease. It is a group of symptoms. These symptoms would go along with certain diseases or conditions. The signs of dementia might also be include changes in mood, personality, and behavior of a person.

Cognitive dementia results when a number of these factors affect parts of the brain of a person. These factors can include infections, diseases, or aging. The parts of the brain involved with dementia with examples are:

·         Learning. Trouble learning a new kitchen appliance.

·         Memory. Trouble remembering where you lived the past few years.

·         Decision-making. Not able to make what used to be simple decisions.

·         Language. Pausing to find words in the middle of a sentence.

What are some of the Causes of Cognitive Dementia disease?
The most common cause of Cognitive dementia is Alzheimer's disease which is caused by accumulation of Al. Alzheimer's disease is also causes by 51 to 70 percent of all dementia.

The most common causes of cognitive dementia include:

Degenerative neurological diseases. These include Alzheimer's, dementia with Lewy Bodies, Parkinson's, and Huntington's.

Blood-flow (vascular) disorders. Including multiple-infarct dementia, which is caused by multiple strokes in the brain.

Infections that affect the central nervous system. These consist Chronic drug use.

Depression.

Certain types of hydrocephalus. This is a buildup of fluid in the brain. The fluid buildup can be result from irregularities in development, infections, injury, or brain tumors.

Normal aging.