Dementia is the term used for a group of symptoms, including a loss of memory, problem-solving, language, and a loss of other cognitive abilities that affect daily life. The most common cause is Alzheimer's, which is often associated with dementia.
What's dementia?
Like heart disease, dementia isn't a specific illness or disease of its own, but rather, a catch-all term for any changes in the brain that cause the symptoms mentioned above. Someone that begins to show signs of a loss of problem-solving skills, memory, and other cognitive abilities will often be diagnosed with dementia, and will then be given a more specific diagnosis when further testing is done. The most common cause is Alzheimer's, which makes up over 60% of people that have dementia. Some people associate this with becoming ‘senile' as most people diagnosed with dementia are elderly, but younger people can also show symptoms.
What are the signs to look for?
There are signs to look out to help spot if someone you know may have dementia, with symptoms linked to forgetting and memory being some of the most obvious. If you notice that someone is struggling to keep track of their personal belongings, they forget to pay bills or eat regular meals, or if they try to wander out of their house or neighborhood, you may want to get a more formal opinion.
Dementia is often a progressive process, with signs showing and slowly getting worse over time. If you notice signs that someone may be forgetting or misplacing items, don't wait to take them to a GP to get a memory test and diagnosis. With this, there's more chance that treatment can be found to slow down the speed of the decline, or get measures in place to help protect the individual.
Is there a treatment for dementia?
Possible dementia treatments depend on its cause and the stage that the individual is. Currently, there's no cure for Alzheimer's disease, and nothing can slow down how fast it progresses. There are some options for medications that can improve an individual's symptoms for a short amount of time, which are generally prescribed to people with both Alzheimer's and dementia. Clinical trials are being carried out to test new drugs, methods, and treatments, but this process takes many years, and volunteers can be challenging to find.
What causes dementia?
Dementia is caused by damage to a person's brain cells, which directly impacts their ability to communicate. This leads to the symptoms commonly associated with dementia, such as failing cognitive capacities and loss of short-term, and then long-term memory. Different types of damage to someone's brain cells are related to different types of dementia, with Alzheimer's, for example, being caused by too much protein both inside and outside of the brain cells, preventing them from communicating properly. Often, the hippocampus is the first part of the brain that's impacted by this inability to communicate. It's the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning, which is why forgetting is one of the first symptoms to show.
