Symptoms of dementia: signs, diagnosis, risk factors

Dementia is a permanent loss of memory and thinking.There are many different neuropathy that can cause dementia.. The most common and well-recognized is Alzheimer’s disease.Dementia is usually gradual and progressive and causes the following problems: Executive functionCan include memory and self-care skills.

This article describes the symptoms, diagnosis, causes, treatment, and prevention of dementia.

Symptoms of dementia

Symptoms of dementia can be subtle at first. Over time, the effects can progress to the point where many people with dementia are unable to stand on their own and take care of themselves.

Early signs

Early signs of dementia include cognitive symptoms, mood swings, behavioral changes, and personality changes.

Early signs of dementia include:

• Forget where to put things
• Frustrated, worried, sad
• Withdraw
• Vague
• Forget about recent events

For many, these are normal personality traits, not signs of dementia. It can also be due to being busy, distracted, lacking sleep, or suffering from another illness. These signs can be signs of early dementia if they are poorly personalized, persistent, and worsening.

Cognitive symptoms

Cognitive skills are thinking skills, including memory, planning, and organizing. Decreased cognitive skills, the main effect of dementia, can make it difficult to function properly.

As dementia progresses, common cognitive symptoms that people may experience include:

• Excessive sleep or irregular sleep habits
• Difficult to calculate easily
• I’m at a loss
• confusion
• ConfabulationThis says you have the wrong memory or you made a mistake to fill the lost memory
• Loss of appetite or increased appetite
• incontinence
• Don’t recognize close friends, family, or longtime colleagues

People with dementia may notice these problems, which can be frustrating or embarrassing. In many cases, as dementia progresses, people are no longer aware of their cognitive impairment.

Psychological symptoms

There are many behavioral and emotional problems that can occur with dementia. These problems have nothing to do with a person’s basic personality, and people with dementia may begin to behave completely differently than before.

Psychological, psychiatric, and behavioral symptoms of dementia include:

These symptoms can fluctuate and can be exacerbated temporarily during an illness or infection, or when adapting to a new drug.

diagnose

Diagnosis of dementia is based on medical history and medical examination. In many cases, other causes of symptoms should be ruled out, especially if the symptoms start suddenly or unexpectedly and progress.

Physical examination including Neurological examinationHelps identify signs of other potential causes such as infections, strokes (blocked blood flow or bleeding in the brain), brain tumors, etc.

Blood test, if necessary, Brain imaging testGenetic testing, or other specific tests can be done to identify the condition that may be causing the signs or symptoms.

Dementia screening and cognitive tests are useful for diagnosis and tracking of changes over time.

The general tests used to assess dementia are:

These tests examine specific executive functions. They are scored and compared to standard scores to help determine if there are any objectively measurable problems.

Dementia testing and screening are not used alone to diagnose dementia. These are tools used with a history of symptoms, laboratory tests, and a complete picture of what is happening.

Cause

Dementia is caused by degeneration or damage to areas of the brain involved in memory, thinking, planning, and other executive functions.

Occasionally, as with Alzheimer’s disease, degeneration is concentrated in certain areas of the brain, such as the hippocampus.

In addition, conditions that cause widespread brain damage, including: Multiple strokesIt can also cause dementia due to widespread interruptions in brain communication between different regions. Some types of dementia are also characterized by protein accumulation in the brain, especially Lewy bodies and tau protein.

Some of the conditions that cause dementia are:

• Alzheimer’s disease: Alzheimer’s disease, a common type of dementia that causes memory loss and depression, often makes affected people suspicious of others.
• Vascular dementia: A small or large stroke can cause damage to the entire brain, leading to poor thinking and memory.
• Frontotemporal dementia: The disease causes loss of brain tissue in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, resulting in behavioral changes and memory loss.
• Pick disease: Pick disease, a rapidly deteriorating dementia, changes personality and makes it impossible to take care of yourself.
• Lewy body dementia: This type of dementia causes memory and motor disorders such as tremors and stiffness.
• Multiple system atrophy: This rare disease causes dementia and movement disorders due to degeneration of the brainstem, cerebellum, and other areas of the brain.
• Parkinson’s dementia: Parkinson’s disease can usually cause dementia late in life.
• Pseudobulbar palsy: This condition causes emotional instability, movement disorders, and poor memory and thinking ability.
• Huntington’s disease: This hereditary disorder causes symptoms of motor control loss, convulsions, and psychosis.
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: This rare condition caused by brain damage results in personality changes, dementia, and loss of coordination.

Dementia may have a variety of causes or no specific disorder may be defined.

Down’s syndrome and cerebral palsy are conditions that are present at birth that are associated with a higher risk than usual for Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.

process

Pharmacotherapy and cognitive therapy are the basis of dementia treatment. There is no known cure for any type of dementia. Namenda (Memantine), Aricept (donepezil), Lazadain (galantamine), and Excelon (rivastigmine) are approved drugs for the treatment of certain types and stages of dementia. They may slow the progression of the disease for some people.

In the early stages of dementia, cognitive training can be started when a person is still able to participate and is willing to participate. This type of treatment may include activities to maintain organizational skills and memory.

Symptomatic treatment.

Managing the effects of dementia can be beneficial. For example, many people with dementia lose interest in eating. Nutritional supplementation with high-calorie drinkable supplements may help and, in some situations, a feeding tube may be required.

Other important interventions include prevention and treatment of bedsores, muscle contractures, and infections.

Prevention

It can reduce the risk and impact of certain types of dementia. Vascular dementia can cause disability on its own and can contribute to the effects of other types of dementia.

Treating health problems that cause vascular dementia, such as unhealthy cholesterol levels and high blood pressure, can have a significant impact on reducing risk.

In addition, lifestyle-related habits such as regular exercise, avoidance of smoking, alcohol restriction, and maintenance of physical and mental activity reduce the risk of vascular dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other types of dementia. It is related.

Overview

Dementia is a progressive decline in cognitive function and has many causes. Dementia is more common with aging. There is no cure for dementia, but there are several treatments that may help slow the progression of the disease and alleviate the symptoms.

People who develop dementia may be aware of the problem at first, but as the disease progresses, they are not worried about its effects and need caregiver support.

A word from Verywell

Dementia changes a person’s behavior and personality. It’s hard for a loved one to see, and the real daily challenges can be overwhelming. Be sure to get the support and assistance you need for anyone in your life dealing with dementia.