Major Types of Dementia
Dementia is described as the brain disease that could lead to the consequence of long-term or gradual memory loss, reduction in thinking ability and language difficulties which affects the daily activities of a person in an effective manner, hence it is considered as the major neurocognitive disorder (Smits et al., 2015). The illness mainly affects three major part of the brain such as memory, language and decision making. Based on the affected area dementia can be classified into various disorder. For example, Alzheimer’s disease, which is considered as the most common form of dementia (Sørensen, Nygaard & Christensen, 2016). It is characterized by the death of brain cell and most of the people with this disease experience mod change, confusion and difficulties in walking and speaking (Alagiakrishnan, Bhanji & Kurian, 2013). Vascular dementia is another common type of dementia which is developed due to poor blood flow to the brain and disorientation and confusion are the early signs of vascular dementia (Sørensen, Nygaard & Christensen, 2016). Next is Lewy body dementia which is associated with deposition of protein in the nerve cells. Visual hallucination is one of the major consequences of this type of dementia (Smits et al., 2015). Dementia due to Parkinson’s disease is also prevalent and a person with such kind of dementia may develop depression or become paranoid (Alagiakrishnan, Bhanji & Kurian, 2013). Further, frontotemporal dementia affects the front and side areas of the brain that are responsible for behaviour and language, thus lead to compulsive behaviour and create difficulties in speaking and remembering the meaning of common words (Sørensen, Nygaard & Christensen, 2016).
In addition to such common types of dementia there are some rare forms of dementia, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease that progress very quickly and leads to depression, agitation, loss of memory and muscle stiffness (Smits et al., 2015). Hungtintn’s disease is another rare form that develops due to genetic condition that causes premature breakdown of nerve cells of the brain (Alagiakrishnan, Bhanji & Kurian, 2013). Normal pressure hydrocephalus also associated with dementia and it is caused due to increased fluid in the ventricles of brain (Sørensen, Nygaard & Christensen, 2016). Another rare form of dementia is wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome which develops due to lack of vitamin B-1 and leads to bleeding of brain in the lower section. A patient with this disease may experience difficulties in learning new things, processing information and remembering things. As the symptoms are similar to dementia, hence, it is classified as dementia sometimes (Alagiakrishnan, Bhanji & Kurian, 2013). Lastly the mixed dementia in which people experiences more than one type of dementia, for example, combination of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia (Smits et al., 2015). Most of the dementia is reversible but, study has reported that only in 20% cases of dementia reversal happens (Sørensen, Nygaard & Christensen, 2016).
Impact on Various Age Groups
Different forms of dementia impact on different age groups. For example, huntington’s disease could affect both the juvenile and the adults. In case of juvenile the symptoms develop during childhood or adolescence, while in case of adults it has been found that symptoms occur in 30s or 40s (Alagiakrishnan, Bhanji & Kurian, 2013). However, the most common forms of dementia such as Alzheimers disease, vascular dementia and others develop during the age of 40 to 50 years. It has been found that in 60 to 80% cases dementia occurs in this age (Smits et al., 2015). Thus, it can be said that older adults are more susceptible to dementia than other age groups.
The sign and symptoms of dementia vary in different stages and there are four different stages of dementia, such as mild cognitive stage, early stage, middle stage and late stage. In the mild cognitive stage the signs and symptoms remain subtle and it has been found that in 70% cases people diagnosed with mild cognitive stage (Smit et al., 2017). The disorder just begins in this stage and they are not severe. In Mini-mental state examination a person with mild cognitive stage of dementia could score 27 to 30. Symptoms in this stage include trouble with memory and words, however, they in this stage people may be able to manage their daily affairs (Giebe et al., 2014). The next stage is early stage in which people started to show noticeable symptoms and in this stage the symptoms starts to affect the daily activities. A person with early stage of dementia could score 20 to 25 in mini mental state examination. The symptoms may include difficulties in daily work at house or workplace, memory issue, lack of organizational skills, problem in visiting new places and personality change. In this stage people could take care of one-self but they may forget to take pills or doing a work, thus need to set reminders (Smit et al., 2017). Next stage is middle stage where the symptoms of early stage become worse. In this stage a person may score 6-17 in mini mental state examination. People with middle stage dementia may experience difficulties in problem solving, lack of ability for making social judgement and some cognitive impairment. In this stage people usually fail to function outside their home and they should not be left alone, hence they seek for personal care support (Giebe et al., 2014). The final stage of dementia is known as late stage. In this stage people experience difficulties in memory, language, problem solving, vision, hallucination and disarrangement. Hence, such people need to assist fully in their personal care as they face problem in eating and sleeping pattern is also disrupted, even they fail to recognize family members (Smit et al., 2017). Hence, it is important to diagnose the illness earlier to reduce the risk of late stage.
Stages of Dementia and Associated Symptoms
There are different factors that may lead to the consequence of dementia. Such factors affect different portions of brain, as a result different types of dementia develops according to the affected area of brain. For example, multiple sclerosis is one of such factor that contributed to the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease is mostly associated with this factor (Deckers et al., 2015). In addition, cardiovascular risk such as stroke has been found to be a risk factor of dementia as it affects the blood circulation of brain (Cermakova et al., 2015). Brain is the pat of central nervous system and there are some infections such as HIV and meningitis that affects the central nervous system, hence, lead to the development of dementia (Bellou et al., 2017). In addition traumatic brain injuries are also associated with dementia (Booker et al., 2016). Further, there are certain types of hydrocephalus that produce fluid in the brain thus, lead to the consequence of dementia such as normal pressure hydrocephalus (Deckers et al., 2015).However, long-term substance abuse is also identified as the potent risk factor of dementia as it interacts with the neurons and receptors of neurotransmitters and affect their activation (Bellou et al., 2017).
A wide range of diagnosis process is associated with dementia, hence it can be said that dementia cannot be diagnosed with one test. Doctors depend on medical history and implement physical examination, laboratory test, consider personality changes and problem with daily activities (Robinson, Tang & Taylor, 2015). There are some particular tests that help to screen dementia such as cognitive testing. In this regards mini mental state examination has been found to be most effective (Sandilyan & Dening, 2015). In addition, abbreviative mental test score and modified mini mental state examination is also used. Study has recommended montreal cognitive impairment and informant questionnaire on cognitive decline in the elderly as the tool for predicting dementia (Harrison et al., 2015). Further, laboratory test such as blood test, vitamin deficiency, hormonal issue and electrolyte imbalance are used to identify the treatable factors (Robinson, Tang & Taylor, 2015). Additionally, effective imaging such as CT Scan, MRI, PET and SPECT have been identified as the effective tool for assessing long-term cognitive dysfunction (Sandilyan & Dening, 2015).
Study has indicated that dementia cannot be cured however, with effective interventions it could be managed in an effective manner (Whitmer et al., 2015). In this regards, behavioural or cognitive interventions have been to be effective. Some effective psychological therapies are also available such as reminiscence therapy and validation therapy. Effective cognitive exercise could be used as intervention in the cognitive stimulation program for the people suffering from early or mild stage of dementia. Such interventions could help to improve cognition, management of mood, behavioural factors and communication as well (Ma et al., 2014). Study has reported that occupational therapy is also effective in order to manage people with dementia. In this regards, the strength of the patient such as the task in which they are interested could be used for example, cooking (Moore et al., 2014). On the other hand, music therapy is also used in case of dementia in the recent decays (Whitmer et al., 2015). In addition, evidence has been found regrading the effectiveness of doll therapy as well (Ma et al., 2014). Furthermore, effective medications such as cholinesterase inhibitors have been found to useful in order to manage the agitation and aggression of the patients (Schwarz, Froelich & Burns, 2012). Patient education plays an important role in order to facilitate such interventions to improve the health of the patient and help them to maintain quality of life (Moore et al., 2014).
Factors Contributing to Dementia
Besides the physical and psychological sufferings of the patient, dementia also impacts on the family and friends of the patients (Morris & Noel, 2015). One of the common problems with dementia is por memory due to which people fail to recognize their own friends and family members that leads to emotional distress of the relatives and friends (Kasper et al., 2015). On the other hand, people with dementia experience difficulties in recognizing words and language thus, fail to communicate with other people that could cause detachment with society and friends. In such situation the dementia patients fail to maintain relationships as well (Morris & Noel, 2015). In addition the increased dependency, agitation, aggression and irritation of the patients may affect the mental and physical health of the family members (Kasper et al., 2015). Hence, it can be said that, dementia is a big issue not only for the patients but also for the family and friends of the patient.
References
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