Alzheimer’s (AD) is a brain disease in which the brain begins to deteriorate. There are no direct causes of this disease but there are many factors that impact it. One is more likely to develop this disease if they contain a certain allele called the APOE epsilon4 allele. Risks are increased if one is older, female, has history of high blood pressure and head trauma, and has relatives with the disease. There are two types of AD, early onset and late onset.
NFCE Level 3 Preparing to work in Adult Social Care Unit 13 understand the process and experience of dementia 1.1 Dementia is not a specific disease. It's an overall term that describes a wide range of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to reduce a person's ability to perform everyday activities. Alzheimer's disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of cases. Vascular dementia which occurs after a stroke is the second most common dementia type. But there are many other conditions that can cause symptoms of dementia, including some that are reversible, such as thyroid problems and vitamin deficiencies.
Most people who suffer with it are over 65 but there are 150,000 people under 65 who also suffer with it. There are 55 types of dementia however 10 of these are the most progressive, 3 of which are the most common and severe. There is currently no cure. Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common case of dementia affecting around 465,000 people in the UK. It is a physical condition affecting the brain.
Other early warning signs that Mr Lusk has presented with are deficits in language often people with Dementia forget how to speak simple words which can impact on the ability to have a conversation with the person, judgement, insight and thinking are also signs of Dementia people with Dementia have a hard time with abstract thinking and can’t problem solve as well as they use to. All the deficits that Mr Lusk has presented with do help confirm that Mr Lusk is suffering from Dementia. (Croft, 2010) 2. What investigations would help to confirm a medical diagnosis of Dementia? Mr Lusk had a mental exam performed on him when he was admitted to hospital which did show signs of memory loss and impaired cognitive functions other investigations that would help confirm a medical diagnosis of dementia would be to take a clinical history from the patients family, a
Dementia can affect adults of all ages and can often be confused with delirium. Delirium is a temporary decline in function of the brain that can be restored when the underlying cause is treated. Dementia is a progressive, non-curable process that is detrimental to both the person suffering from the disease but also the care takers. It is important as a nurse to be familiar with dementia and also to be educated on the different treatments used as many of these patients end up not only in nursing homes but also in the emergency department and medical-surgical floors of local hospitals. There is a growing
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 difference being, physical illness can be seen, and mental illness can hide, even masquerade it’s symptoms for long periods of time without any treatment. Some mental illnesses can be cured through the assistance of a psychiatrist or counselor. Depression is one such mental illness. Quite often when someone is feeling depressed for extended periods of time, having someone who will listen, and not make judgments is all that is needed. Other mental illnesses such as schizophrenia require a doctor to prescribe medication to keep the systems under control.
Vulnerable Populations in Current Events Introduction The article titled “An in-home geriatric programme for vulnerable community-dwelling older people improves the detection of dementia in primary care,” was chosen because it deals with a very sensitive vulnerable population: older people suffering from dementia. The most common issue with dementia is that it grows undetected at the beginning, and people and relatives believe that forgetting things is just a sign of aging; however, not all older people suffer from that devastating disease, which to date, has not found any real solution. In the article chosen there is a concern of detecting early signs of dementia at a primary health care level. Early detection of dementia enables the use of the related services at an early stage. It also allows the patient and caregiver the possibility to organize their lives better in face of the progressive mental decline.
3) Other conditions such as depression and delirium both have similar symptoms as dementia. Memory loss can just be a result of ageing, however it is also a symptom of dementia. Understand key features of the theoretical models of dementia. 2.1) The medical model of dementia focuses on the dementia itself. For example it focuses on which type of dementia it is and how it can be treated.
UNDERSTANDING DEMENTIA Signs and symptoms of dementia Dementia is a collection of symptoms including memory loss personality change, and impaired intellectual functioning that interferes with normal activates and relationships. They can have behavioural , hallucinations, cant judge thins properly resulting from debase or trauma to the brain.. Some people might think that dementia is due too old age were in fact its not as when we get older are thinking slows down . Dementia can happen at any age some children can have dementia , dementia is not a specific disease ,there is Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia , accounting for two- thirds of all diagnosed cases. if your dementia symptoms