Dementia is a condition in which mental skills, especially forgetfulness, weaken due to illness.
It is derived from the Latin word mens = mind. Dementia; It means the subsequent loss of the mind. It does not mean that the mind is not present or insufficient.
Dementia, by definition, must impair or begin to impair more than one faculty at once. Therefore, the inability to remember due to a stroke is not considered dementia, but the occlusion of small and medium-sized vessels is included in the scope of multi-infarct dementia.
ARE DEMENTIA AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER?
The most common cause of dementia is The most common cause is Alzheimer's disease, that is, Alzheimer's type dementia, which occurs in more than two-thirds of all dementia patients.
However, there are a wide variety of diseases or conditions that cause dementia because they weaken the brain. In addition to Alzheimer's disease, vascular/circulatory dementia is also frequently observed. The treatment of less common causes of dementia, such as enlargement of brain cavities, drug side effects, infections, and metabolic-toxic conditions, is quite different from Alzheimer's disease.
DEMENTIA AND AGE
Dementia is the result of a disease, not old age. But the risk of Dementia increases with age. The concepts of age-associated memory impairment (AAMI) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are concepts that should be distinguished from dementia. These patients should be followed carefully. Some patients in this group are diagnosed with Alzheimer's type dementia.
DEMENTIA SYMPTOMS
Forgetfulness and memory problems are at the forefront in most people with dementia. However, other mental skills are also affected.
Examples of these:
The patient or his/her relative; He/she complains about repeating the same questions and the same subjects, losing personal belongings, forgetting appointments, forgetting food on the stove and the stove on.
It manifests itself first in unfamiliar places, then gradually in familiar places, as difficulty finding direction and sometimes getting lost.
In the early period, it may start with difficulty in naming and a narrowing of the vocabulary, and gradually a speech disorder may develop, in which comprehension is impaired, as is more common in AD. simple current Manual skills may be impaired in the use of devices (comb, scissors, toothbrush, tableware, etc.).
It may impair the recognition of objects and faces, and the determination of the position of an object in space relative to other objects.
The patient tends to lose mental flexibility; He/she has difficulty understanding jokes, has difficulty planning his/her behavior, reasoning about individual and social problems, and producing appropriate solutions to the problems he encounters in daily life.
There may be disorders in impulse control regarding sexual tendencies and eating.
He does not show initiative. , does not demand anything of his own accord, does not speak unless addressed. Nothing that happens around him seems to interest him.
Sometimes he shows relaxed behavior, unusual initiative, playfulness, and childishness that are incompatible with his social position; Relatives of the patient often describe these changes as a source of shame for the family.
Thought disorders, especially theft (“the caregiver is stealing my money”), infidelity (“my spouse is cheating on me with someone else”) and abandonment (“you will put me in a nursing home”) ) may have delusions.
Perception disorders occur in the form of a tendency to see things that do not exist and hear things that do not exist.
Depression, anxiety, restlessness, inability to sit still, constantly changing places and places, and getting bored very easily.
Purposeless-repetitive movements (aimless walking-stepping, repeating the same movement such as opening-closing cabinets, folding-unfolding sheets, collecting and stacking in inappropriate places) are among the observable behavioral problems.
>Maintaining a job, traveling outside the home, shopping, handling financial matters (bill payments, banking, etc.), using daily devices, pursuing hobbies, running the household, self-care or hygiene (dressing, washing, feeding, etc.) toilet, etc.) can impair the characteristics that can be exemplified as being able.
HOW IS DEMENTIA DIAGNOSIS?
Neurological examination, neuropsychological tests, biochemistry tests, neuroimaging methods (CT MRI). If necessary, diagnosis is made with EEG and Lumbar function tests.
Only 2-3% of Alzheimer's disease cases are accepted. Treatment options, which disease causes dementia It depends on the cause of the disease.
TO PREVENT FROM ALZHEIMER;
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Do not smoke.
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Eat natural and, if possible, organic food, instead of eating organic food and foods affected by environmental pollution and artificial additives.
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Stay away from sugary foods.
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Cook foods at low temperatures.
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Eat a low-calorie diet.
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Review the items used in the kitchen in daily life. Use steel, glass or porcelain cookware.
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Control your weight and exercise.
Take advantage of sunlight.
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Do not neglect medical check-ups.
Learn to manage your stress and develop social relationships.
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Pay attention to sleep duration.
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