Dementia is characterized by memory loss and several other symptoms that affect your daily routine activities. This disorder is marked by impairment of mental functions like thinking, reasoning and memory. Dementia is not a disease by itself but reflects a group of symptoms that affect one’s social abilities. A person having loss of memory alone does not indicate that he has dementia. Individuals affected with this disorder will have impaired judgment and inability to carry on certain daily activities like checking calls, paying bills etc. People with dementia will even forget the names of intimate people and there will be changes in their behavior. Dementia is treatable based on certain types.
Symptoms :
Some of the common symptoms of dementia are loss of memory, poor concentration, difficulty in talking, difficulty in organizing things, problems in orientation, impairment of motor functions, impaired judgment, changes in personality, agitation, paranoia and hallucinations or day-dreaming. Symptoms may vary with respect to the intensity of damage caused to be nerve cells of the brain.
Dementia Types :
Progressive dementia is one that worsens over time and the symptoms cannot be reduced. Alzheimer’s disease occurs for old age people who are above 60 years. It is one of the major causes of dementia. Defective gene can be the root cause for Alzheimer’s disease. It is believed that plaque like substances are found in the brains of individuals who are affected with Alzheimer’s disease. It can also develop due to hereditary factor.
This disorder makes slow progress reducing your cognitive abilities gradually. Lewy body dementia is seen on 10-20% of people with this disorder in which abnormal bodies of protein are found inside the brain. Individuals with Lewy body dementia will have rapid eye movement disorder in which they hurt themselves and also others.