Dementia is a disease known as dementia in society. A wide range of problems can be seen in dementia patients, from not being able to remember the meal they ate for lunch to personality change, from not being able to recognize their closest relatives to not being able to dress alone. What does dementia mean? What causes senile dementia? How is dementia treated? You can find the answers to all these questions in the following sections of the article.
What is Dementia?
Dementia is a deterioration in cognitive functions. In dementia, problems occur in skills such as memory formation, language, thinking, judgment and behavior, which are cognitive functions of the brain. These problems can reach a level that makes it difficult for the dementia patient to continue their daily life. In some types of dementia, personality changes can also be observed in patients. Dementia is not a single disease. Many different conditions can lead to dementia. Cognitive impairments can range from mild to severe in people with dementia.
Some types of dementia are progressive, meaning they get worse over time. Some dementias can be treated and disease progression can be controlled.
What are the Causes of Dementia?
Dementia is caused by the loss of nerve cells in the brain and the connections between these cells. Diseases that cause this condition are called neurodegenerative diseases. Diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, vascular problems, Parkinson's disease can be given as examples of neurodegenerative diseases. Depending on the area affected by the neurodegenerative disease, different symptoms of dementia may occur in the patients. This accumulation of protein leads to disruption of neurons (nerve cells) in the brain and the connections between neurons. The brain region with the affected neurons cannot fully function and dementia occurs. Vascular Dementia: Problems in the vessels that supply blood to the brain lead to vascular dementia. Difficulty solving problems, slow thinking and focusing problems in vascular dementia are more prominent than memory loss.
Dementia with Lewy Bodies: Lewy bodies are balloon-like structures formed by abnormal proteins in the brain. Lewy bodies can also be found in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Patients with dementia with Lewy bodies may have problems with focusing and attention, and may experience visual hallucinations.
Frontotemporal Dementia: Damage to the frontal and temporal brain lobes may result in the formation of frontotemporal dementia. These two lobes of the brain are primarily concerned with personality, behavior, and language. Therefore, symptoms such as personality changes, behavioral disorders, and problems in thinking and making decisions may be seen in patients with frontotemporal dementia.
Mixed Dementia: More than one type of dementia may coexist in patients. For example, a patient may have Alzheimer's, vascular and Lew body dementia together.
Huntington's Disease: In Huntington's disease, which is a genetic movement disorder, cell loss occurs in the brain and spinal cord. Huntington's patients may encounter dementia at a young age. Early-onset dementia seriously complicates the life of Huntington's patients.
Traumatic Brain Injury: Traumatic brain injuries can also cause dementia. Especially in sports branches such as football and boxing, continuous blows to the head area can cause deterioration in the brain structure.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, in which abnormally structured proteins called prions cause brain damage, are also among the causes of dementia.
Parkinson's Disease: Parkinson's disease can lead to the development of dementia over time.
Infections, metabolic Many conditions such as diseases, vitamin deficiencies, brain hemorrhages, brain tumors cause dementia-like symptoms in patients. With the elimination of the underlying problem, the symptoms of dementia are alleviated in patients.
What's the Difference Between Dementia and Alzheimer's?
Dementia is a condition that occurs as a result of Alzheimer's disease. In Alzheimer's disease, substances called "beta amyloid" and "tau protein" begin to accumulate in the brain. These accumulated substances damage brain cells and the connections between cells over time. As a result, dementia occurs. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia. However, dementia can also occur due to different diseases.
What are the Symptoms of Dementia?
At the onset of dementia, patients show the following symptoms Adaptable to Change: Not adapting to changes in the environment and daily plan
can't find the word
Failing to Follow the Events: Difficulty understanding a story someone tells or someone's description
Mood Changes: Getting into moods such as sadness, anger, frustration
Symptoms of dementia may progress over time. patients; It can go into a state called confusion, where places, people, events cannot be remembered. People with advanced dementia may forget who even the closest people are. Impairment in mental functions can make it difficult to perform simple daily activities such as eating and drinking. Stages of Dementia
Dementia often shows a progressive feature. Therefore, the symptoms seen in the early stage in the patient become more severe over time. Although the rate and form of progression in each patient is different, dementia is generally divided into 4 stages. These stages are:
Mild Cognitive Impairment: Mild cognitive impairment may be seen, especially in elderly patients. In this case, people may experience short-term memory loss and problems such as not being able to remember words. However, mild cognitive impairment does not progress to dementia or another cognitive disorder.
Mild Stage Dementia: Dementia patients can live on their own when they are in the mild stage, and can handle their daily work alone. Patients at this stage may have memory loss of the recent period. Depression and anger can be noticed in the mood of the patients. Patients may forget the location of the items they put in the same place all the time, and may have difficulty doing complex tasks. Patients may have problems expressing their feelings and thoughts.
Medium Stage Dementia: Patients with moderate dementia may have difficulty in doing their daily work alone and may need the help of a relative. In patients at this stage, memory loss may extend beyond the short-term period and extend to earlier dates. Patients cannot meet their needs such as bathing and dressing on their own. intermediate level Personality changes become more pronounced in patients with dementia. These patients have problems recognizing the environment and people.
Advanced Stage Dementia: The final stage of dementia is the stage in which cognitive functions are minimized. Patients who reach this stage become unable to even perform basic body functions such as walking, swallowing and bladder control. Someone must stay with these patients at all times. When dementia is advanced, the patient cannot communicate with his environment.
What are the Types of Dementia?
Types of dementia are separated from each other according to the disease that causes damage to the brain. Types of dementia:
- Alzheimer's disease,
- Vascular dementia,
- Parkinson's disease,
- Frontotemporal dementia,
- Dementia with Lewy bodies.
How is Dementia Treatment?
Diagnosing dementia is not always easy. Survey examinations, such as the dementia test used to measure mental functions, have no diagnostic value. Instead, patients are evaluated cognitively, psychologically, and physically to make the correct diagnosis. The presence of dementia is investigated by evaluating the patient's many skills such as thinking, making decisions, speaking, recognizing the environment, and communicating.
Most types of dementia have no cure. Therefore, the main goal in the treatment of dementia is to control the symptoms in the patient and thus to increase the patient's quality of life. Drugs such as cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine can be used in the treatment of Alzheimer's-related dementia.
If the patient has accompanying problems such as depression, hallucinations, sleep disorders, drugs for these problems can also be added to the treatment. It may be necessary to make landscaping so that dementia patients can lead a more comfortable life. For example, items in the house that may cause the patient to fall can be removed. In some cases, items such as keys and knives may be placed in places where the patient cannot reach for safety reasons.
Dementia, or dementia, as it is popularly known, is a serious problem that is common especially in elderly patients. Progression of dementia can be controlled by recognizing the symptoms in the patient at an early stage and consulting a doctor. Thus, the patient goes to his needs on his own for a longer period of time. , his dependence on other people decreases. When the onset of dementia is noticed in patients, it is absolutely necessary to go to a health center and have the necessary controls done.
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