Dementia

According to the Mayo Clinic, dementia describes a series of symptoms that impacts memory, social ability, and cognition that severely impact daily activities. There are several causes of dementia, but the most common cause is Alzheimer’s Disease. While there can be slight differences in common warning signs and symptoms of dementia, they can include memory loss, issues with problem-solving or reasoning, difficulty organizing, confusion, and impaired visual/spatial abilities. While these are all common cognitive changes in dementia, there can also be psychological changes like depression, anxiety, agitation, and hallucinations (Mayo Clinic, 2022).

There are 5 major types of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause. Vascular Dementia is due to damage to blood vessels of the brain. Lewy Body Dementia is caused by an accumulation of Lewy Bodies in the brain. Fronto-temporal Dementia is due to nerve cell degeneration in the frontal and temporal regions of the brain. Finally, mixed dementia happens because of a combination of various factors (Mayo Clinic, 2022).

According to the Mayo Clinic, many risk factors can contribute to onset of dementia. Some of these are reversible, while others are irreversible. Certain factors like genetics and age are irreversible. On the other hand, having a healthy diet and exercise regimen, limiting smoking and alcohol use and filling in nutritional deficiencies are all examples of risk factors that can be modified to reduce dementia risk (Mayo Clinic, 2022).

If you are worried that you may display warning sign’s of dementia, it is best to consult your physician, since they may be able to help you modify risk factors and determine the cause of the dementia.

Citation:

Mayo Clinic. (2022, October 12). Dementia. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dementia/symptoms-causes/syc-20352013