DEMENTIA

Marjan, Mustafa F.
What is dementia?
• It’s a progressive neurodegenerative disease
characterized by cognitive decline that causes
impairment in daily functioning .
• It is not a specific disease but is rather a
general term for the impaired ability to
remember, think, or make decisions that
interferes with doing everyday activities.
The causes :
• It can be caused by damage to or loss of nerve
cells and their connections in the brain.
• Dementia can be hereditary.
• Alzheimer's disease (most common).
• Vascular dementia.
• Parkinson's disease.
• Dementia with Lewy bodies.
• Frontotemporal dementia.
Other risk factors:
• Lack of exercise and obesity.
• Poor diet.
• Excessive alcohol use.
• Cardiovascular risk factors.
• Depression.
• Diabetes.
• Smoking.
• Head trauma.
Signs and symptoms:
• Memory loss.
• Difficulty concentrating.
• Finding it hard to carry out familiar daily tasks,
such as getting confused over the correct change
when shopping.
• Struggling to follow a conversation or find the right
word.
• Being confused about time and place.
• Mood changes.
Epidemiology of dementia:
• Currently more than 55 million people live with dementia
worldwide, and there are nearly 10 million new cases
every year. Dementia results from a variety of diseases
and injuries that primarily or secondarily affect the brain.
• It mostly affects Women, People Ages 85 and Older, and
Racial and Ethnic Minorities Face Greater Dementia Risk.
Dementia is more prevalent at older ages. About 3% of
adults ages 70 to 74 had dementia in 2019, compared
with 22% of adults ages 85 to 89 and 33% of adults ages
90 and older.
Treatments:
• There is no cure.
• Symptomatic treatment such as (Galantamine,
Rivastigmine, and Donepezil) aka
Cholinesterase inhibitors which boost the
levels of a chemical messenger involved in
memory and judgment.