Unit 4222-237 Dementia awareness (DEM 201) Outcome 1 1. Explain what is meant by the term ‘dementia’. Dementia is the progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the body beyond what might be expected from normal ageing. Unlike Alzheimer’s disease which is a specific change in the brain were a dementia is more of a generic term that can include many conditions and various causes. 2.
Dementia Awareness Understand what dementia is. 1) Dementia is where there is a decline of the brain and its abilities, it is caused when the brain is damaged by disease, for example, Alzheimer’s disease, damage to the brain or a series of strokes. There are several types of dementia these include, vascular, Alzheimer’s, lewy bodies, fronto-temporal. 2) Areas affected by dementia are memory loss, speed of thinking, mental agility, language, understanding and judgement. 3) Other conditions such as depression and delirium both have similar symptoms as dementia.
1.3 -Explain why depression, delirium and age-related memory impairment may be mistaken for dementia This may be the case because they all share many of the same symptoms as dementia, for example depression can manifest as anxiety, irritability, sleep disturbance, changes in appetite, weight loss or occasionally weight gain, fatigue, decreased energy and difficulty concentrating, thinking or making decisions. Delirium can produce reduced awareness of the environment, wandering attention, being withdrawn, poor memory and difficulty speaking or recalling words. Age-related memory impairment can include forgetting where you left things you use regularly, forgetting names, forgetting an appointment,
Dementia can affect the following key functions of the brain: - Temporal lobe - Parietal lobe - Frontal lobe - Occipital lobe - Hippocampus - Cerebrum lobe These all affect the function of: -Memory -Emotion -Cognitive skills -Perception -Behaviour -Communication -Senses and movement 1.3 Explain why depression, delirium and age related memory impairment may be mistaken for dementia. Delirium, age related memory and depression often affect the memory and cognitive impairment, which can be mistaken for dementia. If someone is clinically depressed, their symptoms may be very similar to someone who has got dementia. Delirium, like dementia, is more common in older adults. Depression, delirium and age related memory impairment are all symptoms of dementia.
Functions that are affected by dementia are; Short term Memory loss, Language skills, the ability to interpret information, spatial skills, judgement and attention. These are all affected with the different types of dementia due to which part of the brain is affected. Depression, Delirium and age related memory impairment may be mistaken for dementia as the individual may present with similar signs and symptoms to dementia. To ensure weather these conditions are dementia or not a full assessment needs to be carried out by a qualified doctor. The medical model of dementia sees dementia as being degenerative with no cure.
The medical model of dementia the medical model refers to what the clinical approach to dementia is for example how the changes in the brain happen, when the occur and how the condition is managed and what medication is used to manage it. Dementia as a clinical syndrome is characterised by global cognitive impairment,which represents a decline from previous level of functioning, and is associated withimpairment in functional abilities and, in many cases, behavioural and psychiatricdisturbances. a syndrome due to disease of the brain, usually of a chronic or progressive nature, in which there is disturbance of multiple higher cortical functions, including memory, thinking, orientation, comprehension, calculation, learning capability, language, and judgement. Consciousness is not impaired. Impairments of cognitive function are commonly accompanied, occasionally preceded, by deterioration in emotional control, social behaviour, or motivation.
Cerebrum lobe is biggest part of the Brain its role is memory, attention, thought, and our consciousness, senses and movement 6. Hippocampus is responsible for memory forming, organizing and storing and emotions 1.3 explain why depression, delirium and age-related memory impairment may be mistaken for dementia Depression can be mistaken for dementia because when someone is very depressed their memory can be affected. Symptons of depression: Anxiety, irritability, Delusions Hallucinations Increased or decreased body movements Pacing, wringing their hands, pulling or rubbing their hair, body, or clothing Sleep disturbance: difficulty getting to sleep, staying asleep or especially waking up early Changes in appetite: usually loss of appetite but sometimes increased appetite Weight loss or occasionally weight gain Fatigue, decreased energy Difficulty concentrating, thinking or making decisions Slowed speech, slowed responses with pauses before answering, decreased amounts of speech, low or monotonous tones
Cristina-Sandra Chirita | Dementia | [Date] Cristina-Sandra Chirita | Dementia | [Date] Dementia Awareness assessment Dementia Awareness assessment 1. Understand what dementia is: 1.1 Explain what is meant by the term “dementia” Dementia are the signs and symptoms caused as a result of the specific diseases such as Alzheimer’s or a stroke that involve the damaging of brain cells; as the brain cells die the person with a dementia will lose their ability to do things they are used to doing as different parts of the brain are damaged. Dementia affects both older and younger people and the decline in the person will get worse as more brain cells are damaged or die. 1.2 Describe the key functions of the brain that are affected by dementia - behavior, movement, interpretation of what is around us and personality: frontal lobe; - language used, special awareness and recognition of places, objects and people: parietal lobe; - eyesight and ability to see: occipital lobe; - memory, hearing and speech: temporal lobe. 1.3 Explain why depression, delirium and age-related memory impairment may be mistaken for dementia Because this are symptoms of dementia but the cause for them to happen can be different: - for depression: a person can be depressed but not suffer for dementia; - for delirium: it can be caused by an infection and the person could become confused and suffer with memory loss which are also signs and symptoms of dementia; - for age-related memory impairment: if someone becomes forgetful they might think or others might think they have dementia because a lot of people associate dementia with old age and memory loss but younger people can be affected too.
UNIT 013 - UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS AND EXPERIENCE OF DEMENTIA UNDERSTAND THE NEUROLOGY OF DEMENTIA 1.1 DESCRIBE A RANGE OF CAUSES OF DEMENTIA SYNDROME 1.2 DESCRIBE THE TYPES OF MEMORY IMPAIRMENT COMMONLY EXPERIENCED BY INDIVIDUALS WITH DEMENTIA 1.3 EXPLAIN THE WAY THAT INDIVIDUALS PROCESS INFORMATION WITH REFERENCE TO THE ABILITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DEMENTIA 1.4 EXPLAIN HOW OTHER FACTORS CAN CAUSE CHANGES IN AN INDIVIDUAL'S CONDITION THAT MAY NOT BE ATTRIBUTABLE TO DEMENTIA 1.5 EXPLAIN WHY THE ABILITIES AND NEEDS OF AN INDIVIDUAL WITH DEMENTIA MAY FLUCTUATE There are various forms of dementia which are caused when some of the cells in the brain which control different functions in the body stop working properly and mental functions deteriorate. Depending on which part of the brain this occurs, dementia affects how that person thinks, concentrates, remembers and communicates. * Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia. Alzheimer’s is caused by nerve cells dying in certain areas of the brain. In addition to this, the connections between affected nerve cells deteriorate.
People experiencing vascular dementia will, like those with Alzheimer’s disease, have problems with learning, remembering, recognition, planning and problem solving. However, there is a major difference in the two diseases. Alzheimer’s disease tends to affect the whole of the brain and to progress gradually and steadily. Vascular dementia tends to affect only certain areas of the brain, and this means someone may retain more of their abilities – and also more awareness of their condition. Dementia syndrome or ‘mixed dementia’are terms for a condition in which abnormalities characteristic of more than one type of dementia occur simultaneously in the brain.