47.5 million people have dementia; 7.7 million new cases each year. In today’s day and age, there a lot more diseases that people can get than there used to be; but also a lot more treatments and medical advancements so the treatment is usually not a very big problem. One of a few exceptions is dementia. There is no set cure for it but scientists and doctors know quite a lot about it. So you are probably wondering “What is Dementia?” Dementia is a slow or sometimes sudden decline in your mental and/or physical health. (Alzheimer’s) I say and/or because it depends on what type you have. Dementia damages nerve cells in different parts of the brain and it affects every person differently. (Alzheimer’s) There are four types of dementia- Alzheimer’s, …show more content…
This type of dementia can affect a person as young as fifty years old- the youngest of all four types of dementia. It is a breakdown of nerve cells in frontal lobes, the areas behind your forehead; and temporal lobes (the areas behind your ears) of the brain. There are two known causes that lead to this type of dementia. The first one is a group of brain disorders that involves the protein Tau. The second one is a brain disorder that involves the protein TDP43. As of right now, there is no knows reason why these two groups of disorders like to go to the frontal and temporal lobes but it leads to dementia. Because these disorders hit the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, it leads to loss of function in those lobes. As an effect from that, it causes declining in behavior and personality, language disturbances or alterations in muscle or involuntary …show more content…
There are some medications that can help stop or slow progress of worsening symptoms. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had only approved of six pharmaceuticals for dementia. For example, the anti-dementia drug, Memantine, is given to individuals with Alzheimer 's. It helps stabilize the disease and help keep being able to perform daily activities such as eating, walk, and help maintain the same behavior. Due to the complexity of the brain, we have a blood-brain barrier that only a few drugs can cross to help dementia. Because of this, it is very expensive and time consuming to come up with and observe the effect the effect it has on dementia. Due to the lack of a pharmaceutical that can cure dementia, there are a lot of non-pharmacologic treatments that one with the disease can try. Like prescription drugs, these do not cure it but they can help maintain or temporarily slow down the progressions of worsening symptoms. Music therapy and reminiscing therapy are the most common. By going this way rather than the pharmaceutical way, you actually lower your chances of having severe depression or anxiety. Right use of treatment procedures, listening to your physicians, and paying close attention to your other health problems can help improve quality of
This is a disease is found in the brain and is caused by a buildup of a protein called tau. Tau slowly kills brain cells. Even after brain trauma has ended this process still continues. There are many symptoms such as memory loss, confusion, impaired judgement, depression, and even aggression.
clumps of abnormal proteins insides the brain cells. These proteins are called the Tau proteins they take a form of picks bodies. This slowly leads to frontotemporal dementia.
There are no current treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers are constantly looking for new and advanced treatments to alter the course. Any breakthrough in progress will ensure the improvement of the quality of life of people with dementia.
Alzheimer’s is a result from a combination of factors that cause progressive brain deterioration that affects the memory and behavior of an individual. There are two known risk factors. The first risk factor is age. Alzheimer’s usually affects people older than 60, and rarely affects those younger than 40. The average age
Dementia is a significant health issue in Australia (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2012) (AIHW 2012). Whilst Dementia primarily affects older members of the community, it can also affect young people and has a significant influence on overall health and quality of life (AIHW 2012). The type of Dementia is a determinant in the severity and development of symptoms in individuals (Department of Health 2013) (DoH, 2013). The gradual, progressive and irreversible nature of Dementia has a considerable social and physical impact not only on the individual, but also on family and friends.
Dementia patients must have the right to participate in all decisions concerning their care. Every person in this world has the same equal rights, no matter the situation. Doctors, caregivers, nurses, and even family members brush off the request of the person suffering from dementia each and every day. Most people call this carelessness while others call it freedom and in all reality, it is far from freedom. Luckily, there are many people who fight for the freedom everyone deserves. The majority of "Health professionals are usually keen to keep people with dementia at the center of decisions. Independent advocacy can support this by giving the extra time and skills needed to help people have a voice without the tensions of any other role"
Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia which is a brain disorder that impairs mental functioning. Dementia attacks the part of the brain which controls memory, language, and thought. It makes everyday tasks like remembering to brushing your teeth, or to pay your bills next to impossible to do, which is why so many people who are diagnosed with this disease are in complete care. This disease has different phases, the first being slight forgetfulness and then the persons emotions may heighten as well as language impairment, violent outbursts, loss of bladder control and from there it keeps getting worse until complete dysfunction of the brain occurs and eventually death, which most of the time is the result of infection.
Alzheimer's disease is a neurological disorder which kills the brain cells, causing memory loss and cognitive decline. This leads to severe psychological impairments which changes how people think, behave and other complications such as paranoia, disorientation and unprovoked aggression. These psychological impairments reduce people’s functional ability and therefore reduce their quality of life.
“Loss” is the main thing many people think about when they think of dementia. Dementia is a term used to describe a disease that infects the mind of elderly people making them forget their memories and everyday activities. There are varying levels and extremes of dementia, meaning the disease affects people differently depending on how severe their specific case of dementia is. Fortunately, the disease does not happen immediately, it is a gradual process. The more time that passes, the more matured the disease gets. Also, dementia contributes to the loss of cognitive, psychological, and health related functions.
The exact cause of Dementia is damage to the brain cells; it affects the way the brain cells are able to communicate with one another. When the cells aren’t able to communicate, it commonly disturbs thinking, behavior, and feelings. Synapse or neuron to neuron functioning is dismal which results in confusion and communication problems. Many things can cause damage to the brain cells such as, diseases that cause deterioration in the brain like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Strokes, nutritional deficiencies, and head injuries can all also cause the on set of Dementia in a person. The symptoms of Dementia are widely varied, but at least two or more mental functions must be significantly weakened to be considered to have Dementia. Memory loss and the ability to focus and pay attention much are two common symptoms seen in patients who have Dementia. Memory loss is usually the earliest and most noticeable symptom (WebMD 2011). The mechanism that causes Dementia is also the mechanism that causes the symptoms to start appearing. Causes and symptoms go hand in hand in the case of Dementia.
Alzheimer's disorder is a mental disorder that affects your brain, and in particular the disorder affects the memory part of your brain. The disorder slows down the memory section of your brain, and as a result the number one symptom of Alzheimer's is memory loss. The disorder usually doesn't affect younger people, but instead affects people that are older than the age of sixty. The disorder can get so serious that the patient could loss there of about everything that has ever happened in their life. Patients usually loss their memory of their childhood during the most severe, intense, and last stage of the disorder. Alzheimer's disorder can also have a drastic effect on the patient's family, because during the disorder the patient can forget about their entire family.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the leading causes of death in America and there are currently more than five million people living with the disease (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014). What may be most troubling about these numbers is the fact that Alzheimer’s disease has no current cure. Alzheimer’s disease is a neurocognitive disorder and a common form of dementia that will affects a person’s memory, way of thinking and their behavior (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014). AD typically develops slowly and the more time a person has the disease the worse the symptoms will become. AD in its later stages becomes so severe that people with the disease cannot even do simple daily tasks. Although there is no cure there are still ways to prevent, delay, and possibly treat the disease.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, and this terminal, progressive brain disorder has no known cause or cure. Its greatest known risk factor is increasing age which is why is it is infamous for developing in the elderly, typically in ages 65 or over, however for the 5%(1) that develop Alzheimer’s in their 40s or 50s it is known as early Alzheimer’s. Because Alzheimer’s worsens over time, those with it tend to struggle with completing daily tasks especially elderly people. Given that there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, the treatments available slow the worsening of dementia symptoms and improve quality of life for those with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. It is not known what causes Alzheimer's, however, those with Alzheimer's have been found to have abnormal amounts of protein (amyloid plaques) and fibres.(The amyloid plaques and fibres are found in regions of the brain where problem solving and thinking take place e.g The cerebrum.) Due to the unusual amounts of amyloid plaques and fibres, it reduces the effectiveness of healthy neurons and eventually, destroying them.
Imagine attempting simple everyday tasks and struggling because of confusion or memory loss. Well unfortunately, this is what it is like for many people with dementia. The severity of dementia ranges from person to person, but is there anything that can help? Music therapy, for one, can actually be tremendously helpful for those with dementia in more ways than the average person might think.
A myth about Alzheimer disease says that nothing can be done about the disease. This is not true. Much can be done to assist the person with Alzheimer’s disease to maintain the highest possible level of functioning as long as possible and in providing the highest quality of life.