What is Dementia? – Home Companion Services

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common of the dementing disorders, affecting as many as 4 million Americans. Researchers recently characterized a new form of dementia called LATE. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative disease that attacks the brain and results in impaired memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include a gradual memory loss, decline in ability to perform routine tasks, disorientation in time and space, impairment of judgment, personality change, difficulty in learning, and loss of language and communication skills, which are often the earliest symptoms. As with all dementias, the rate of progression in Alzheimer’s patients varies from case to case. From the onset of symptoms, the life span of an Alzheimer victim can range anywhere from 3 to 20 or more years. The disease eventually leaves its victims unable to care for themselves. While a definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is possible only through the examination of brain tissue, which is usually done at autopsy, it is important for a person suffering from any symptoms of dementia to undergo a thorough clinical examination. Dementia is linked to changes in specific brain regions, affecting the functioning of neurons and their connections. In fact, after such an evaluation, approximately 20% of suspected Alzheimer’s cases prove to be a medical condition other than Alzheimer’s, sometimes treatable. Another type of dementia is Lewy body dementia, which is also a focus of ongoing research.

Depression is a psychiatric disorder marked by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking skills and concentration, feelings of hopelessness, and sometimes, suicidal tendencies. Mental decline can significantly impact daily life, making it crucial to address these changes promptly. Many severely depressed patients will have some mental deficits including poor concentration and attention. When dementia and depression are present together, dementia symptoms may be exaggerated. Depression, whether present alone or in combination with dementia, can be reversed with proper treatment.

Multi-infarct dementia (MID), or vascular dementia, is a type of dementia characterized by a deterioration of mental capabilities caused by multiple strokes (infarcts) in the brain. The underlying disease processes that contribute to multi-infarct dementia involve various neurodegenerative disorders that lead to these strokes. The onset of MID may be relatively sudden as many strokes can occur before symptoms appear. These strokes may damage areas of the brain responsible for a specific function as well as produce generalized symptoms of dementia. As the result, MID may appear similar to Alzheimer’s disease. Multi-infarct dementia is not reversible or curable, but recognition of an underlying condition (high blood pressure) often leads to a specific treatment that may modify the progression of that disorder. Multi-infarct dementia is usually diagnosed through neurological examination and brain scanning techniques, such as computerized tomography (CT scan) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in order to identify strokes in the brain.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive disorder of the central nervous system, which affects more than one million Americans and impacts brain functioning. Nerve cells in the brain, particularly those that produce dopamine, become dysfunctional and die, leading to the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and contributing to dementia.

Individuals with PD lack the substance dopamine, which is important for the central nervous system’s control of muscle activity. Parkinson’s disease is often characterized by tremors, stiffness in limbs and joints, speech impediments, and difficulty in initiating physical movement. Later in the course of the disease, some patients develop dementia and eventually Alzheimer’s disease. Conversely, some Alzheimer patients develop symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Medications such as levodopa, which converts itself into dopamine once inside the brain and depreynl, which prevents degeneration of dopamine containing neurons, are used to improve diminished or deduced motor symptoms in PD patients but do not correct the mental changes that occur.