Is A Loved One Becoming Forgetful and Anxious?

Signs and Symptoms of Dementia
Dementia most commonly affects elderly people and can be described as a decline in reasoning, memory and other mental functions. This decline eventually impairs the ability to carry out everyday activities, such as driving; household chores and even personal care such as bathing, dressing and feeding.

What is dementia?
Dementia is the loss of mental functions—such as thinking, memory, and reasoning—that is severe enough to interfere with a person’s daily functioning. Dementia is not a disease itself, but rather a group of symptoms that might accompany certain diseases or conditions. Symptoms also might include changes in personality, mood, and behavior. Dementia is irreversible when caused by disease or injury, but might be reversible when caused by drugs, alcohol, hormone or vitamin imbalances, or depression.

Dementia develops when the parts of the brain that are involved with learning, memory, decision-making, and language are affected by any of various infections or diseases. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, but there are as many as 50 other known causes. Most of these causes are very rare.

Some of the disorders that cause dementia might be reversible, although unfortunately most types of dementia do not respond to treatment. Therefore, it is very important to evaluate dementia symptoms comprehensively, so as not to miss potentially treatable conditions. The frequency of "treatable" causes of dementia is believed to be about 20 percent.

What are some of the other causes of dementia?
There are many causes of dementia, including neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, blood flow-related (vascular) disorders such as multi-infarct disease, inherited disorders such as Huntington's disease, and infections such as HIV.

Alzheimer's disease causes 50 percent to 70 percent of all dementia. However, researchers are finding that some of what was previously considered Alzheimer's disease is really one of two other degenerative diseases: Lewy body disease and Pick's disease. There also are a number of other important disorders that can lead to dementia. Some of these are potentially reversible, at least partially, and should be considered before a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is made.

How common is dementia?
Although dementia has always been somewhat common, it has become even more common among the elderly in recent history. It is not clear if this increased frequency of dementia reflects a greater awareness of the symptoms or if people simply are living longer and thus are more likely to develop dementia in their older age.

Dementia caused by neurological degenerative disease, especially Alzheimer's disease, is increasing in frequency more than most other types of dementia. Some researchers suspect that as many as half of all people over 80 years old develop Alzheimer's disease. Also, the increased incidence of AIDS dementia complex, which results from HIV infection, helps account for the increased dementia in recent history.

Who gets dementia?
Dementia is considered a late-life disease because it tends to develop mostly in elderly people. About 5 percent to 8 percent of all people over the age of 65 have some form of dementia, and this number doubles every five years above that age. It is estimated that as many as half of people 85 or older suffer from dementia.

Is dementia treatable?
Treatable causes of dementia are reversible disorders that can be cured completely, or at least partially, by treating the underlying disorder. Because some types of dementia are treatable or partially treatable, it is important not to assume that a person who is showing any symptoms of dementia is suffering from Alzheimer's disease or another incurable disease.

Where can you go for help?
The Lakewood Hospital SeniorCare Assessment Center works closely with family members and the primary care physician to provide a comprehensive, holistic evaluation of the patient and to develop an individualized care plan. After the initial consultation, the patient and family members meet with the SeniorCare team to discuss the assessment findings, learn about treatment options and discuss all concerns.

Their goal is to provide the best plan of care for older adults experiencing a change in their physical, psychological or social wellbeing. For more information on the SeniorCare Assessment Center, click here.

To make an appointment, please call 216.221.2228.