Dementia is a syndrome associated with an ongoing decline of the brain and its abilities. This includes problems with: * memory loss * thinking speed * mental agility * language * understanding * judgment People with dementia can lose interest in their usual activities, and have problems controlling their emotions. They may also find social situations challenging, lose interest in socializing, and aspects of their personality may change. A person with dementia may lose empathy (understanding and compassion), they may see or hear things that other people do not (hallucinations), or they may make false claims or statements. As dementia affects a person's mental abilities, they may find planning and organizing difficult.
Dementia with Lewy bodies is closely related to Parkinson's disease and often has some of the same symptoms, including difficulty with movement. Front temporal dementia (including Pick's disease) – In front temporal dementia, the front and side parts of the brain are damaged over time when clumps of abnormal proteins form inside nerve cells, causing them to die. At first, changes in personality and behavior may be the most obvious signs. Depending on where the damage is, the person may have difficulties with fluent speech or may forget the meaning of words or objects. 2) Memory problems are usually the most obvious symptom in people with dementia.
Rachel Pearson Unit 13: Understanding the Process and Experience of Dementia Unit Code: DEM 301 Unit reference number: J/601/3538 Section 1 - Understand the neurology of dementia 1.1 Describe a range of causes of dementia syndrome? Dementia syndrome is a group of signs and symptoms, in which cause damage to cells in the brain. The most common causes are neurodegenerative diseases; this includes Alzheimer’s, Vascular, and Frontotemporal, lewy bodied, Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease (CJD) and Huntington disease. With these diseases the brain cells degenerate and die more quickly than the normal ageing process. This leads to the decline of a person’s mental health and sometimes physical abilities.
This may be as a result of a stroke or mini strokes although it can be caused by preventable conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. Dementia with Lewys Bodies (DLB) is caused by small deposits of proteins found in the nerve cells of the brain. Their presence in the brain leads to the degeneration of brain tissue. This is the third most common form of dementia. Rarer forms of dementia are: Fronto temperal dementia which is brain damage usually focused in the front or temporal parts of the brain.
Unit DEM 301 Understanding the neurology of dementia: 1.1 A common misconception is that Dementia is a normal part of the ageing process. Dementia is a broad-spectrum term for a range of progressive diseases that generally affect memory, emotional and sometimes physical ability. Dementia is ultimately caused by damage to the brain cells, this damage then causes miscommunications within the brain. When the brain cells do not then work together as usually this can have an effect on an individual’s thinking, abilities and behaviour. Dependent on the type of damage to the cells and the particular regions that are affected this can indicate through investigations (i.e brain scans….)
Dementia Report Sources: www.nhs.uk www.alzheimers.org.uk What is Dementia? Dementia is a syndrome, meaning a group of related symptoms. It's associated with a continuous decline of the abilities that the brain is capable of, eg. memory, understanding and judgement. In most cases, dementia is caused by damage to the structure of the brain.
Hsc L3 Unit 4222-365 Dementia UNIT 4222-365 UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS AND EXPERIENCE OF DEMENTIA OUTCOME 1 1.1 The brain is a very complex organ and is divided up into different areas that control bodily functions. In dementia, some of the cells stop working. The part of the brain this occurs in will affect how that person thinks, remembers and communicates. Alzheimer’s disease; is a physical disease affecting the brain. During the course of the disease, protein develops in the structure of the brain leading to the death of brain cells.
As well as these cognitive symptoms, a person with dementia will often have changes in their mood. For example, they may become frustrated or irritable, withdrawn, anxious, easily upset or unusually sad. Dementia is progressive which means the symptoms gradually get worse over time. How quickly dementia progresses varies greatly from person to person. As dementia progresses, the person may develop behavior problems which may seem out of character.
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
As dementia progresses behaviours may become erratic or unusual, behaviours such as pacing, agitation, repetitive questioning or restlessness. In the later stages of dementia physical symptoms may become apparent such as muscle weakness or weight loss, also changes in sleeping patterns and eating habits may