{"id":5072,"date":"2022-11-01T15:00:23","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T22:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valleyhospicenv.com\/?p=5072"},"modified":"2022-11-14T00:25:14","modified_gmt":"2022-11-14T08:25:14","slug":"dementia-all-about-causes-symptoms-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valleyhospicenv.com\/dementia-all-about-causes-symptoms-treatment\/","title":{"rendered":"Dementia: all about causes, symptoms, treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
Dementia is a condition that manifests itself in the decline of mental capacity.\u00a0It is not a specific disease, and the term is usually used to describe a group of symptoms that cause a deterioration of mental capacity.<\/p>
Although these symptoms can occur at any age, people over the age of 65 have an increased risk of developing these conditions.\u00a0Among the types of dementia, the most common is\u00a0Alzheimer’s, and 60-70% of patients with declining mental capacity are affected by this condition.<\/p>
In general, a person experiencing dementia will have trouble performing simple, everyday activities, will have frequent mood swings, personality disorders, and communication problems. In the following, you can find out everything you need to know about dementia and how people with this condition can be helped.<\/p>
Dementia is caused by the simultaneous degradation of nerve cells in different regions of the brain.\u00a0Each individual manifests in a different way, and the symptoms differ depending on the area of \u200b\u200bthe brain that has been affected.<\/p>
Most of the time, dementia is incurable, but there are also situations in which it can be treated.\u00a0If the condition is manifested against a background of vitamin deficiency or in response to certain medications, treatment can help the patient to fully recover.\u00a0In general, the main causes of dementia are:<\/p>
Regardless of the cause of dementia, a person suffering from such a condition will benefit enormously from a\u00a0professional\u00a0<\/span>care service<\/span>, through which to be assisted in daily activities.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Pseudo-dementia is another form of this manifestation, which can be caused by depression.\u00a0In fact, this condition does not appear as degradation of brain cells, but due to depression, which causes the affected person to lose motivation and concentration.<\/span><\/p> There are also many diseases that can cause memory loss, including:<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> In general, the symptoms of dementia are related to frequent and progressive memory loss, loss of ability to concentrate and pay attention to certain everyday things, and decreased visual perception.<\/span><\/p> Dementia is very difficult to detect, and the signs that appear in the early stages of the disease are subtle and vague, and can often be ignored.\u00a0The most common are:<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> People diagnosed with MCI (mild cognitive impairment) are already experiencing symptoms such as memory loss, but these are very difficult to differentiate from normal aging.\u00a0The person will experience daily problems, which differ in severity.<\/span><\/p> In most cases, people with MCI end up suffering from dementia, usually Alzheimer’s.\u00a0About 40% of people with MCI end up suffering from dementia within three years, and about 80% of these people experience the condition within 6 years.<\/span><\/p> Although a person suffering from MCI cannot resort to a treatment to heal, there is a chance to slow down or even stop the progression of the disease.\u00a0<\/span>Normally, one in 8 people with memory disorders will progress to dementia, but it is not possible to say which of these people will be affected.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> In addition to drug treatment, diseases that affect memory can be slowed down or even stopped by a healthy lifestyle and a few simple but extremely effective techniques.\u00a0These include:<\/span><\/p> Dementia is a disease that cannot be diagnosed by blood tests.\u00a0The detection of this condition, especially in the early stages, is quite complicated, and therefore it is necessary to obtain a second opinion.\u00a0To make a correct diagnosis, certain steps must be followed:<\/span><\/p> In the case of a patient suspected of dementia, the medical evaluation is atypical and, in the first instance, consists of a discussion between the doctor and the patient. The most common questions asked by the doctor will be:<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> In order to avoid confusion between dementia and another condition with similar symptoms, it is necessary to perform certain laboratory tests to determine exactly what is causing the symptoms.\u00a0These analyzes include:<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> If your doctor still wants to make sure there are no other causes of these symptoms, he or she will recommend a CT (CT scan) and an MRI (MRI).\u00a0Through these tests, problems such as stroke or brain tumors can be identified.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> The evolution of dementia is progressive and will worsen over the years.\u00a0Currently, there are certain treatments that can help slow the condition, but unfortunately, this is an irreversible one that cannot be cured. In this situation, an elderly patient, suffering from dementia, can benefit from professional help at home, through which to maintain their quality of life and to have at their disposal all the necessary facilities.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Currently, there are certain treatments that can slow the progression of dementia or even stop certain symptoms.\u00a0<\/span>To a dementia patient, the doctor will prescribe:<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> If dementia has occurred as a result of a treatable cause, the doctor will try to repair the cause to relieve or even stop the symptoms.\u00a0Treatments include:<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> For types of dementia that cannot be cured, treatment is based more on slowing down or, as the case may be, stopping it, and there are certain medications that can help.\u00a0But be careful.\u00a0Drug treatment is administered only on doctor’s instructions and only on prescription.\u00a0Some medications have side effects and may react with other treatments you follow.<\/span><\/p> It is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor that has the role of reducing the cognitive degradation caused by dementia.\u00a0The drug is useful for treating both Alzheimer’s and dementia with Lewy bodies.<\/span><\/p> People suffering from behavioral disorders who become agitated due to dementia may be given antipsychotics.<\/span><\/p> Another drug used to treat Alzheimer’s.\u00a0It blocks the effects produced by certain substances in the brain.\u00a0It is used as a treatment for mixed dementia.<\/span><\/p> If the patient is experiencing dementia-specific symptoms and they are found to have been triggered by tumors or hydrocephalus, surgery will be required.<\/span><\/p> Given that all types of dementia lead to high memory loss, it is crucial that the patient receives special care, so as not to hurt himself and to enjoy life as comfortably as possible. Because this condition is manifested mainly in the elderly, we will talk about the type of care needed for this category of people.<\/span><\/p> It is very likely that a person with dementia will forget to eat on time and therefore will need someone to make sure they are fed properly.\u00a0Also, an advanced dementia sufferer will have difficulty handling cutlery and will need help from someone else.\u00a0If a family member is unable to feed the patient, you can seek\u00a0<\/span>specialist help<\/span>.<\/span><\/p> Because a person with dementia is no longer aware of the danger and can no longer be responsible for his decisions, it is important that he is provided with an environment in which he cannot be injured.\u00a0To do this, you need to consider certain aspects:<\/span><\/p> Even though dementia is, in most cases, an incurable and irreversible disease, it is important to make sure that people suffering from such a condition are properly cared for and helped to lead a dignified life in a safe environment.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What is dementia: causes, symptoms, treatment Dementia is a condition that manifests itself in the decline of mental capacity. It is not a specific disease, and the term is usually used to describe a group of symptoms that cause a deterioration of mental capacity. Although these symptoms can occur at any age, people over the age […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5074,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/valleyhospicenv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5072"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/valleyhospicenv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/valleyhospicenv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valleyhospicenv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valleyhospicenv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5072"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/valleyhospicenv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5623,"href":"https:\/\/valleyhospicenv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5072\/revisions\/5623"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valleyhospicenv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/valleyhospicenv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valleyhospicenv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valleyhospicenv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Other causes of dementia<\/span><\/span><\/h4>
What are the symptoms of dementia?<\/span><\/span><\/h4>
Early signs of dementia<\/span><\/h4>
What is the Incipient Cognitive Deficit?<\/span><\/h4>
Simple techniques to improve your memory<\/span><\/span><\/h4>
Diagnosis of dementia<\/span><\/h4>
Medical evaluation<\/span><\/h4>
Laboratory tests<\/span><\/span><\/h4>
Imaging tests<\/span><\/h4>
How does dementia evolve?<\/span><\/h4>
How is dementia treated?<\/span><\/h4>
Treatment to remove the causes<\/span><\/h4>
Treatment to stop or slow down the progression of dementia<\/span><\/h4>
Donepezil<\/span><\/span><\/h3>
Antipsychotics<\/span><\/h3>
Memantine<\/span><\/h3>
Surgical treatment<\/span><\/h3>
How to treat a dementia patient<\/span><\/span><\/h2>
Proper nutrition<\/span><\/h4>
A safe environment<\/span><\/h4>