Understand the process and experience of dementia. Unit 4222-365 Outcome 1- 1) A range of causes of dementia syndrome. Alzheimer's disease – This is the most common cause of dementia. Brain cells are surrounded by an abnormal protein and their internal structure is also damaged. In time, chemical connections between brain cells are lost and some cells die.
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.
Alzheimer’s Disease Alzheimer’s disease is associated with a buildup of proteins in the brain causing plaques & tangles. The buildup of these is common during the natural aging process. However, post mortem investigations have discovered an unusually large amount in people presenting with Alzheimer’s type symptoms. Vascular Dementia Vascular Dementia is caused by a reduced flow of blood to the brain. This can occur following a stroke or a series of TIA’s which can then result in stopping the blood accessing the blood vessels.
Vascular dementia is caused when there is a reduction in the blood flow to the brain. Over time, this can damage the parts of the brain which play a large part of a person memory, speech and attention. A stroke can play a part in this type of dementia when it narrows the blood vessels to the brain. Dementia with Lewy Bodies is caused by lumps of protein which builds up inside nerve cells inside the brain, the proteins damage the nerve cells and how they work, these nerves are responsible for thinking, memory and movement of a person. Dementia with Lewy Bodies can be closely related to Parkinsons Disease and there is a theory that Dementia with Lewy Bodies interferes with two neurotransmitters called dopamine and acetylcholine which assist in the brains functions.
Dementia is a collection of symptoms including memory loss, personality change, and impaired intellectual functions resulting from disease or trauma to the brain. These changes are not part of normal aging and are severe enough to impact daily living, independence, and relationships. There will likely be noticeable decline in communication, learning, remembering, and problem solving. These changes may occur quickly or very slowly over time. Common signs and symptoms of dementia include: * Memory loss * Impaired judgment
Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and accounts for between 50 and 70 per cent of all cases. It is a progressive degenerative illness that attacks the brain. As brain cells shrink or disappear, abnormal material builds up as ‘tangles’ in the centre of the cells and ‘plaques’ form outside the cells. These disrupt messages within the brain, damaging connections between brain cells. The cells eventually die and this means that information cannot be recalled or assimilated.
Unit 237 – 1 Understanding Dementia Dementia is the progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the body beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Unlike Alzheimer's disease, this is a specific change in the brain. Dementia is more of a generic term that can include many conditions and various causes. The key functions that are affected by dementia are: Temporal lobe = responsible for vision, memory, language, hearing, 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 Occipital lobe = responsible for processing information related to vision Cerebrum lobe = biggest part of the Brain its role is memory, attention, thought, and our consciousness, senses and movement Hippocampus = responsible for memory forming, organizing and storing and emotions Depression, delirium and age related memory loss may sometimes be mistaken for dementia as some of the symptoms are similar... for example:- Symptoms 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 of voice Symptoms of delirium: Reduced awareness of the environment, this may result in: An inability to stay
Being a degenerative disease Alzheimers attacks the brain through exponentially greater cell death and tissue loss which results in decreased brain size and brain activity. Because of this behavior, memory and the normal thinking processes are affected.
Alzheimer disease is something that is a serious disease it is commonly find in elderly adults and is caused by dementia it is characterized by a major loss of memory and many more cognitive functions. Histopathologically is seen as a presence of neurotic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Inflammation in Alzheimer disease, the immune system plays a very important role to development of Alzheimer disease it has a unclear role and it still needs to be understood which part of the immune system might be damaged, Failure may lead to chronic inflammation, which is known as part of the pathology in the brain of individuals with Alzheimer's disease. No one knows exactly how Alzheimer develops yet, there has been many clues as to why it happens.
The cause of Vascular Dementia is when the blood supply to the brain is restricted or stopped, brain cells begin to die, which results in brain damage. Alzheimer's Disease: The cause of this is the brain shrinks over time which