Where Does Dementia Come From

September 16, 2021

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Difficulty In Calculating Numbers And Handling Money Or Balancing The Cheque Book

Can Dementia Come and Go? ANSWERS Inside!

This is different to: common age-related issues such as missing a couple of debt repayments due to low income, making occasional errors with number calculations.

Consistent financial problems and money struggles are high on the early signs of dementia checklist. These dementia symptoms include changes in an ability to develop and follow a plan or work with numbers. ;This could include:

Spending money more frivolously than usual
Having difficult following a recipe with measurements
Being uncharacteristically generous with money
Struggling to keep track of monthly bills

If youre concerned about your parents ability to handle their finances, read our guide on protecting their legal and financial situation.

What Are The Medications For Stroke

The agents most frequently used to treat stroke or vascular dementia and its complications include the following:

Antiplatelet agents – Aspirin, ticlopidine , clopidogrel bisulfate , and extended-release dipyridamole with aspirin
Antidepressants – Several different classes of drugs and many different agents
Antihypertensive agents – Several different classes of drugs and many different agents

Does Dementia Come And Go

My mom can be very lucid and aware most of the time but then be rather frightening. She called me at the grocery store about 8:00pm and said she had just wakened up and didn’t know if it was night or day and was confused. Couldn’t get her “bearings” and wasn’t sure if she should have taken her 7:30 meds or not. Took abit of taking to her to convince her it was night time. Simple things she is totally confused or forgetful about yet can do other things rather well.

Rarer Causes Of Dementia

There are many rarer diseases and conditions that can lead to dementia, or dementia-like symptoms.

These conditions account for only 5% of dementia cases in the UK.

They include:

problems with planning and reasoning

These symptoms are not severe enough to cause problems in everyday life.

MCI can be caused by an underlying illness, such as depression, anxiety or thyroid problems.

If the underlying illness is treated or managed, symptoms of MCI often disappear and cause no further problems.

But in some cases, people with MCI are at increased risk of going on to develop dementia, which is usually caused by Alzheimer’s disease.

Read more about how to prevent dementia.

Dying From Dementia With Late

The Ultimate Guide to Dementia By a Caretaker in Singapore ...

The death of your loved one can be a hard concept to wrap your head around and accept. But knowing what to expect can help you when your loved one has late-stage dementia. It might help to know what will happen in the future so that you can be prepared emotionally and logistically.

This article discusses how dementia progresses and what to expect during late-stage dementia.

Read Also: How Do You Spell Dementia

Causes Of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease is thought to be caused by the abnormal build-up of 2 proteins called amyloid and tau.

Deposits of amyloid, called plaques, build up around brain cells. Deposits of tau form “tangles” within brain cells.

Researchers do not fully understand how amyloid and tau are involved in the loss of brain cells, but research into this is continuing.

As brain cells become affected in Alzheimer’s, there’s also a decrease in chemical messengers involved in sending messages, or signals, between brain cells.

Levels of 1 neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, are particularly low in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Medicines like donepezil increase levels of acetylcholine, and improve brain function and symptoms.

These treatments are not a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but they do help improve symptoms.

Read more about treatments for dementia.

The symptoms that people develop depend on the areas of the brain that have been damaged by the disease.

The hippocampus is often affected early on in Alzheimer’s disease. This area of the brain is responsible for laying down new memories. That’s why memory problems are one of the earliest symptoms in Alzheimer’s.

Unusual forms of Alzheimer’s disease can start with problems with vision or with language.

Early Signs Of Dementia And How To Spot Them

Spotting the early signs of Dementia can make all the difference to the progression of the disease. If it is diagnosed during the early stages there is a chance that medication will slow down the diseases that cause the damage to the brain.

Weve put together this guide to the early signs of dementia for you to look out for, and some specific symptoms you can monitor. Please use the links below to navigate the article:

FAQs on Dementia Symptoms

Also Check: Can Lack Of B12 Cause Dementia

Can Frontotemporal Dementia Be Inherited

Sometimes, yes. FTD is relatively rare compared with Alzheimers disease or vascular dementia, but it can be passed on directly from parent to child. A diagnosis of FTD can therefore cause a great deal of worry to someone who has children or grandchildren.;

Most FTD is not directly inherited, but about 40 per cent of people who develop the condition will have at least one close relative diagnosed with some kind of dementia. This can include FTD, Alzheimers disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis . In general, the greater the number of relatives who have had dementia particularly FTD or ALS the greater the chances of developing familial FTD.

Of the different types of FTD, the behavioural form is the one that is inherited most often. The type of FTD which starts as primary progressive aphasia is only rarely inherited.

There are lots of different genes causing familial FTD, each with its own pattern of inheritance. If you are concerned about either passing on an FTD gene or inheriting the disease from your parents, you can ask your GP to refer you to a genetic testing service in your area. These people are specially trained to guide you through the process of finding out whether you have a gene that causes FTD. You can also get in touch with a specialist support group at Rare Dementia Support, who can provide information and advice about how to cope with having a heritable form of FTD in your family.

Genes Which May Influence Alzheimers Disease

Does someone with dementia NEED dementia testing?

Having a close relative with the Alzheimers disease is not evidence of a genetic link. People who are influenced by risk factor genes are only at a slightly increased risk in developing the disease than the average population.

The most important gene discovered to date is the Apolipoprotein E gene, which is found in chromosome 19. This gene occurs in three forms in humans: types 2, 3 and 4. Every person in the world carries two Apolipoprotein genes: they can be the same type , or a mixture of two types . What has been found is that people with at least one type 4 and especially those with two, such as 4,4, are at an increased risk of developing Alzheimers disease earlier in life than those with the other types of Apolipoprotein E. Nevertheless half of the people aged 85 who have 2 copies of apolipoprotein E 4 do not have symptoms of Alzheimers disease at that age.

People with type 2, especially 2,2, appear to be protected against developing Alzheimers disease, until much later in life. Researchers do not understand why this is so, and there is much research underway to find out why.

The type of Apolipoprotein does not mean definitely that Alzheimers disease will or will not occur. Indeed it is known that some people can reach 90 with type 4 and not develop dementia, whereas others with type 2 can develop dementia much earlier in life. What this means is that the type of Apolipoprotein a person has, is not enough on its own to cause Alzheimers disease.;

Also Check: What Causes Death In People With Dementia

Discussing Dementia Symptoms With Dr Alex Bailey

In a new episode of the Age Space Podcast, we talk to Dr Alex Bailey, an old age psychiatrist working in Westminster, sharing his thoughts and advice on dementia. This includes identifying the early signs of dementia, details of memory services, supporting those with dementia to live well, psychological therapies, supporting carers and much more. Listen to the dementia explained podcast.

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When Im Sixty Four

Nearly 40 years ago, The Beatles launched a famous song which included the words Will you still need me, will you still feed me when Im 64. At that time Paul McCartney, looking at his 64 year old father, wondered how life would be at 64considered old at that time apparentlyprobably also being afraid for age related diseases, such as dementia. In the coming decades, the financial and emotional burden placed by dementia on the working age population will rise notably. As the age distribution of the western population shifts, the rapid increase of the prevalence of dementia with increasing age means that both the number of affected individuals and the affected proportion of the total population are increasing. This will be especially prominent in Europe, where the median age of the population is higher than in all other parts of the world. Based on several meta-analyses of epidemiological studies and the population projections of the United Nations, the number of prevalent cases in Europe in the year 2000 was about seven million. Within the next 50 years, this number is estimated to more than double to well over 16 million patients with dementia. Not only will the number of patients with dementia increase; in the same time span, the working age population will considerably decrease in number . While in the year 2000, there was a ratio of 69 working age persons to one demented person, this ratio will decrease to 21:1 in 2050.

Figure 4

Cross Sectional Versus Longitudinal Studies

Studies with a longitudinal design are preferred over studies with a cross sectional design for several reasons. It is conceivable that information about risk factors may be systematically different between patients and controls. Patient data must come from a proxy, who might recall the medical history differently than a proxy of a control or the control himself. In addition, prevalence is determined by both the number of new cases over a given period of time, and by the duration of survival once patients have the disease. In analogy, findings of cross sectional studies can reflect the contribution a risk factor makes to developing dementia as well as to surviving after the dementia starts.

Another important issue in this respect is that risk factors may change over time. The impact of environmental factors, such as smoking, diet, physical activity, and vascular disease, may change over time both within an individual and across birth cohorts. Risk factors such as blood pressure change with ageing. Furthermore, the disease, once it has started, may in turn influence the risk factor. For example, the diet of a demented individual may change, when the person forgets to eat his or her meals on a regular basis. Therefore, the relationship between a risk factor and disease may differ depending on the age the risk factor is measured relative to the outcome.

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What Role Do Our Genes Play In Dementia

As dementia is so common, many of us will have a relative living with the condition but this does not mean we will develop it too.

Dementia is caused by diseases that affect the brain, such as Alzheimers disease. The likelihood of developing dementia will usually depend on a complex mix of factors like our age, medical history and lifestyle, as well as our genes. Most cases of dementia are not directly caused by genes we inherit from our parents.

Who Can Diagnose Dementia

Visiting a primary care doctor is often the first step for people who are experiencing changes in thinking, movement, or behavior. However, neurologists doctors who specialize in disorders of the brain and nervous system are often consulted to diagnose dementia. Geriatric psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, and geriatricians may also be able to diagnose dementia. Your doctor can help you find a specialist.

If a specialist cannot be found in your community, contact the nearest medical school neurology department for a referral. A medical school hospital also may have a dementia clinic that provides expert evaluation. You can also visit the Alzheimers Disease Research Centers directory to see if there is an NIA-funded center near you. These centers can help with obtaining a diagnosis and medical management of conditions.

Also Check: Which Of The Following Is Not A Cause Of Dementia

How To Treat And Prevent Alcoholic Dementia

Alcohol dementia treatment can be quite stressful for patients to undertake, but it is necessary to prevent more dangerous health problems and even death. The alcoholism treatment consists of IV therapies and infusions which attempt to reestablish the proper nutritional balance of the body. Patients need to stay in clinics or hospitals for certain periods where they will be closely monitored and treated. Alcohol must be avoided at all costs during the treatment period, a thing which most alcohol abusers find very hard to do. This happens because alcohol addicts have become so used to this toxic substance that the body craves it regularly. Alcoholism support groups are very helpful in these cases.

Dementia from alcohol abuse can also be treated with Thiamine therapy which brings the much-needed nutrients back into a sufferers body. This treatment improves the neurological functioning of the patient and prevents dementia from advancing to more dangerous stages. Patients must also receive proper counsel from professional therapists to discover the root causes of their alcohol addiction and to eliminate them. If proper treatment is administered on time, alcoholic abusers might have a chance of living an alcohol-free and happy life. The rehabilitation facility for alcoholics is the best option to contact to learn more about the recovery process.

What Is Mixed Dementia

How long does dementia last?

It is common for people with dementia to have more than one form of dementia. For example, many people with dementia have both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

Researchers who have conducted autopsy studies have looked at the brains of people who had dementia, and have suggested that most people age 80 and older probably have mixed dementia caused by a combination of brain changes related to Alzheimer’s disease,vascular disease-related processes, or another condition that involves the loss of nerve cell function or structure and nerve cell death .

Scientists are investigating how the underlying disease processes in mixed dementia start and influence each other. Further knowledge gains in this area will help researchers better understand these conditions and develop more personalized prevention and treatment strategies.

Other conditions that cause dementia-like symptoms can be halted or even reversed with treatment. For example, normal pressure hydrocephalus, an abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, often resolves with treatment.

In addition, medical conditions such as stress, anxiety, depression, and delirium can cause serious memory problems that resemble dementia, as can side effects of certain medicines.

Researchers have also identified many other conditions that can cause dementia or dementia-like symptoms. These conditions include:

Also Check: Is Dementia Related To Alzheimer’s

How Can I Reduce My Risk Of Dementia

For the vast majority of people, our genes are only one factor affecting our risk of dementia. There are many other factors involved, such as age and lifestyle. While we cannot change our age or genes, research has found that up to a third of all cases of dementia could be avoided through lifestyle changes.

There are simple things we can do that may help lower our risk:

Do not smoke.
Drink fewer than 14 units of alcohol per week.
Control high blood pressure.
Keep cholesterol at a healthy level.
Keep active and exercise regularly.
Maintain a healthy weight.
Eat a healthy balanced diet.

You can find more detailed information about how you can reduce your risk of dementia here.

How Is Dementia Treated

Treatment of dementia depends on the underlying cause. Neurodegenerative dementias, like Alzheimers disease, have no cure, though there are medications that can help protect the brain or manage symptoms such as anxiety or behavior changes. Research to develop more treatment options is ongoing.

Leading a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise, healthy eating, and maintaining social contacts, decreases chances of developing chronic diseases and may reduce number of people with dementia.

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