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 which begins gradually and worsens progressively over several years is usually caused by neurodegenerative disease that is, by conditions affecting only or primarily the neurons of the brain and causing gradual but irreversible loss of function of these cells. Less commonly, a non-degenerative condition may have secondary effects on brain cells, which may or may not be reversible if the condition is treated. The causes of dementia depend on the age at which symptoms begin. In the elderly population, a large majority of cases of dementia are caused by Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia or both. It is rare to have dementia in young people 1.2 Describe the types of memory impairment commonly experienced by individuals with dementia.
The memory impairment may result in lack of attention, forgetting language, forgetting names and identity of friends and relatives and lose of ability to solve problems. confusion another effect of dementia, and also disorientation in which the patient forgets the direction, the time (date, month and year) and everything about the self. 1.2 Describe the types of memory impairment commonly experienced by individuals with dementia: dementia is a condition of the brain which causes a
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.
UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS AND EXPERIENCE OF DEMENTIA Task A 1. For each of the following forms of dementia, describe: • How is the brain affected • The symptoms an individual might experience. Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative brain disease. Most patients start exhibiting symptoms after they reach the age of 60. Alzheimer's disease affects the brain through exponentially greater cell death and tissue loss, resulting in a decreased brain size.
For example, a victim in an accident resulting in head injury may have difficulty remembering anything new. Concussions are a leading cause to anterograde amnesia. It is also a very common type amongst elderly people battling for of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s. In cases of anterograde amnesia, the damage resides in areas of the hippocampus,
Neurons and synapses become damaged by dementia they may be unable to carry messages that tell a section of the brain what to do. 1.2. Describe the key functions of the brain that are affected by dementia Frontal lobe - Movement, emotional behaviour, personality, interpretation and feeling. Parietal lobe - Language, special awareness and recognition. Temporal lobe – Long term memory, speech and hearing.
Understand the process and experience of dementia Definition of dementia is a syndrome usually of a chronic or progressive nature in which there is deterioration in cognitive function, thinking, orientation, comprehension, and calculation, learning capacity, language and judgement. Dementia is caused by damage in brain. The most common cause of dementia is called neurodegenerative diseases that include Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Huntington disease, Front temporal dementia and dementia with lewy bodies. With this disease the brain cell degenerate and die more quickly than normal ageing process, these decline a persons mental and some times physical abilities. The gradual changes and damage to the brain cells are caused by a build up of abnormal proteins in the brain.
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.
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.