Dementia is a generic term that is used to refer to any impairment of cognitive functioning that is severe enough to diminish the person’s ability to function in his or her life. It is not a particular illness per se but a general condition that results from diseases or illnesses that impact the brain. It is important for anyone who is in charge of the care the dementia patient to understand dementia as a disease, how it progresses, and the different treatment options available.
What Causes Dementia?
Dementia has many possible causes and effets that lead to the damage or death of the brain cells. Some of the most common causes include:Some of the most common causes include:
- Alzheimer’s disease: Formation of extracellular beta-amyloid plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles of the tau protein disrupt the connections between neurons. They reveal that it is responsible for 60 to 80 percent of all cases of dementia.
- Vascular dementia: Hemorrhages or ruptures in the blood vessels in the brain lead to reduced blood and oxygen supply to the brain, which leads to the death of the cells in the affected region. Alzheimer’s disease is the leading type of dementia that accounts for approximately 10% of dementia cases.
- Lewy body dementia: A type of protein depositions known as Lewy bodies is found in nerve cells, disrupting their chemical messages. Incidence is high, accounting for 5-10% of all cases.
- Frontotemporal dementia: Frontal and temporal lobes are responsible for personality, behaviour, emotional regulation and language and any injury to these regions affects them. It was reported that less than 5% of cases were involvement in the decision-making process of investors.
- Mixed dementia: There is a possibility of this new abnormality in the brains of those with more than one type of dementia. These mixed cases can account for up to 45% of all dementia patients.
The signs of dementia and how it develops
Symptoms of dementia vary depending on the parts of the brain impacted and the underlying cause, but often include:Symptoms of dementia vary depending on the parts of the brain impacted and the underlying cause, but often include:
- Memory loss
- Difficulty communicating
- A condition where an individual is unable to concentrate or give attention.
- Cognitive distortions, judgment and decision making, and problem solving.
- To be confused between time or place
- These personality and behavior changes can be attributed to various factors that surround the male person in the society.
The signs start manifesting themselves and become severe over time as more neurons in the patient’s brain continue to die. Dementia progresses in stages:
- Early stage: Problems with memory – minor memory loss and problems in focusing on tasks. As in the case of the previous lessons, daily life remains as always possible.
- Middle stage: Further cognitive decline and more amnesia and disorientation, mood swings and increasing disability in activities of daily living such as getting dressed. Independence starts to decline.
- Late stage: Stem cell treatment has shown to further erode memory, cause drastic changes in personality and leads to disability such as impaired ability to walk. Reliance on caretakers as nearly absolute.
Medical and Nonpharmacological Interventions for Dementias
Dementia may be progressive and non-curable, but several interventions and strategies could help slow the decline and control the distressing signs. Key options include:
- Medications: Cholinesterase inhibitors such as Aricept, Razadyne enhance the chemical transmission in cells while memantine (Namenda) enhances the signal transmission in the brain. They are capable of either enhancing or maintaining a temporary state of some aspects of cognitive function such as memory, concentration, behavior and daily functioning.
- Alternative therapies: Patients can be entertained through therapies such as music and art therapy among others since such parts of the brain that dictate such activities are not affected by the dementia. They tend to help with cognitive tasks and potentially elevate mood. Early stage dementia can also be prevented from deteriorating through physical exercise.
- Caregiving support: Supervising the patient and helping with tasks that become challenging for the individual experiencing dementia. It also entails assistance with putting on clothes, washing among other activities which may include eating, sweeping and cleaning among others. It guarantees patron security and respect.
- Home safety measures: Modifying the home environment to accommodate such tasks making changes such as easy doorknob opening, using grab bars and railings and eliminating hazards around the exits. This helps avoid occurrences that would lead to accidents or wandering off.
- Clinical trials: Cures and investigational uses of drugs are researched in trials while non-pharmacologic treatment that is still under research is also trialed. Trials also let the patients get early access to potential advantageous new treatment.
- Lifestyle factors: Maintaining a socially and mentally active lifestyle, avoiding/preventing depressions, having a balanced and ‘brain-weight’ diet and avoiding/averting head injuries might potentially help in the support or even the delay of dementia.
Planning for advanced dementia: When a person is at an advanced stage of dementia, the intervention such as hospice care, feeding tubes and other comfort measures may be used to make patients comfortable.
Dementia is a complex illness for patients and caretakers and presents unique issues in the context of aggression. Thus, knowing different forms and causes of it, what it may evolve into, and what methods exist for its dementia treatment gives the best chance to improve the quality of life and extend independent living. Getting dementia treatment and support services as soon as possible after the onset of the signs is crucial to optimize the outcomes of the treatments. More promising information regarding this is currently under research, and thus, better therapies are expected to be developed in the subsequent years.
