This article reviews a section from a 2006 World Health Organization report entitled "Neurological disorders: public health challenges."
What is Dementia?
Dementia is a syndrome resulting from brain disease. It manifests as a disruption of higher order cognitive processes, such as memory, thinking, orientation, language, and judgment. Because it affects higher order processes, until the late stages of the disease, general body functions (e.g. eating and using the restroom) are unaffected.
What Causes Dementia?
Dementia has two primary causes: Alzheimer's Disease and Vascular Dementia. It is often difficult to distinguish between the two.
Advanced age is the primary risk factor for dementia. Ninety eight percent (98%) of sufferers are over sixty five years of age.
Dementia is strongly influenced be the environment in which a person lives. Twin studies (studies in which twins, who have identical genetic material, are compared for certain traits) have demonstrated that often one twin will develop Dementia, while the other does not.
Other factors which increase the likelihood of developing dementia include: smoking, head injury, limited education, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and depression. Depression may be an early symptom, rather than a cause of Dementia.
Hormone Replacement Therapy has been found to increase the likelihood of developing Dementia in post-menopausal women.
What are the difficulties of Dementia?
Caregivers report that among the behavioral and psychological symptoms of Dementia, the most difficult for them to deal include agitation, aggression, sleep disturbance, wandering, and apathy.
Agitation, or a restlessness and irritability, may be demonstrated by a Dementia sufferer through not being willing to sit still or wait for a proper time for regular events during the day.
Aggression may be demonstrated through hitting, pushing, or grabbing caregivers when the Dementia sufferer is frustrated.
Sleep disturbance may be demonstrated through "day-night reversal", in which the individual wants to sleep all day and is awake all night.
Wandering may exhibit through the individual leaving the house or living quarters unannounced and walking aimlessly through the surrounding environs.
Apathy may demonstrate itself through the individual losing interest in previously enjoyable activities, or appearing not to care whether friends or family visit.
Treatment for Dementia
There is no cure available for demential. Some medications may slow the loss of function temporarily, such as cholinesterase inhibitors (e.g. Aricept, Razadyne, and Exelon). Medications must be taken carefully, as the drugs can have side effects and interact with one another.
Caregivers can receive training to better deal with the behavioral and psychological symptoms of Dementia as described above.
Prevention of Dementia
Because head injuries and concussions increase the likelihood of Dementia later in life, wearing proper helmets during sporting events and while riding a bicycle or motorcycle may prevent Dementia.
As physical health of individuals improves, the likelihood of Vascular Dementia decreases. So, individuals with better cardiovascular health through exercise and a healthy diet may reduce the likelihood of Dementia.
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