Unit: Dementia Awareness This unit must be assessed in accordance with Skills for Care and Development’s Assessment Principles. Learning Outcome 1: Understand what dementia is Assessment Criteria 1.1. Explain what is meant by the term ‘dementia’ Dementia is a term used to describe a range of signs and symptoms that occur when the brain is affected. Chemical and structural changes in the brain damage and kill brain cells, dementia is a progressive disease and this simply means that the symptoms will gradually get worse. Neurons and synapses become damaged by dementia they may be unable to carry messages that tell a section of the brain what to do.
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 Delirium can produce reduced awareness of the environment, wandering attention, being withdrawn, poor memory and difficulty speaking or recalling words.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,
2. Describe the key functions of the brain that are affected by dementia. The key functions that are affected by dementia are: Temporal lobe- responsible for vision, memory, language, hearing and learning. Frontal lobe - responsible for decision making, problem solving, control behaviour and emotions. Parietal lobe - responsible for sensory information from the body, also where letters are formed, putting things in order and spatial awareness.
1.1 Explain what is meant by the term ‘dementia’. Dementia is a condition which is described by a number of symptoms and is a progressive decline of mental abilities and cognitive function as well as changes in personality, mood, communication and behaviour. Dementia is caused by chemical and structural changes within the brain as well as brain injury. 1.2 Describe the key functions of the brain that are affected by dementia. 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.
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.
Dementia Awareness Unit 237 Dementia is a condition which is the gradual loss of brain function, this also makes it degenerative. It can include symptoms such as memory loss, confusion, problems with speech and understanding. Dementia at the moment has no cure, as it has a number of diseases that coincide with it. Alzheimer’s is part 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.
Generally, this type of amnesia is temporary, and gradually restoration of memory is very common. The areas of the brain that are impaired in retrograde amnesia, the hippocampus, the temporal lobe, and the prefrontal cortex, are associated with primarily declarative and episodic memory. Apparently what occurs is that the brains consolidation process is disrupted; therefore, that area of the brain loses memory of events that were not fully stored. In contrast, anterograde amnesia refers to the loss of memory from the time of the injury, or illness, forward. For example, a victim in an accident resulting in head injury may have difficulty remembering anything new.
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
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.
Describe the key functions of the brain that are effected by dementia * Temporal lobe is responsible foe vision, memory,laugage, hearing, learning * Frontal lobe is responsible for decision making , problem solving, control behavior and emotions * Parietal lobe is responsible for sensory information from the body, also where letters are formed, putting things in order and spatial awareness * Occipital lobe is responsible for processing information related to vision * Cerebrum lobe is biggest part of the Brain its role is memory, attention, thought, and our consciousness, senses and movement * Hippocampus is responsible for memory forming, organizing and storing and emotions Q 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 and they may find it difficult to remember new information. This is similar to dementia except that someone who's depressed may be able to recall the new information after a short time whereas an Alzheimer's sufferer cannot usually do so. Delirium can be easily confused with dementia due to similar symptoms. Delirium is characterized by the sudden onset, fluctuating course, a short duration (often lasting from hours to weeks), and is primarily related to a somatic or medical disturbance. In comparison, dementia has typically an insidious onset, (except in the cases of a stroke or trauma), slow decline of mental functioning, as well as a longer duration.