Dementia is a disorder that affects the human mind and causes a person to lose grasp on the cognitive, functional and emotional aspects of his life. Even though the ailment is associated more with the aged people, it can happen to a person in his adulthood as well. A person afflicted with this ailment starts facing problems with memorizing things and problem solving.

The refined mental functions are hampered first. As the disease progresses, a person starts losing track of time, place and even his own identity. Some people have a misconception that with age the mind is bound to become less effective just like the body. But this notion is wrong and often it is seen that people who are aged have fantastic memories while people who are younger often suffer from memory loss.

Dementia Types and Causes

There are some ailments that cause the nerve cells to deteriorate or collapse. Some such examples are Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and Parkinson’s disease.They ultimately lead to the development of dementia in a person.

A variant is called the Lewy Body dementia which consists of around one fifth of the people suffering from the disease. A type of dementia called the vascular dementia affects the blood vessels carrying blood to the brain.

Some physical conditions can develop Dementia but the good thing is that these can be reversed by treatment. Some of these conditions are vitamin B12 scarcity, hypothyroidism, undiagnosed diabetes etc. There are some drugs that can create a dementia like situation by interfering with memory like sleeping pills and tranquilizers.

Symptoms of Dementia

The main problem of people suffering from dementia is that they do not show any prominent symptom in the initial stage. They do not look particularly ill in the first place. However, the close friends or family members may be able to observe unusual changes in the person’s nature. The main symptom is that an affected person tends to forget things. As the disease progresses, three main symptoms become evident.

An affected person faces cognitive problems in areas like calculation, memorizing, learning and making judgments. He can also face functional hurdles like performing mundane tasks. The emotional life of such a person also becomes topsy-turvy. He tends to lose interest in social activities.

The symptoms and their intensity vary considerably from one variant of dementia to another. People suffering from several forms of Dementia fail to understand why their attitude is making others worried.

There is no specific test to diagnose the disease. But in recent times advanced brain scans and a series of blood tests are used.

Treatment Dementia

As a matter of fact, most of the variants of Dementia advance slowly. People afflicted with the ailment can live around a decade and in the later stages they need more support. It is imperative to provide assistance to such a person in a planned manner and this may help in reducing the effects of the disease.

Progressive dementia can not be cured by any treatment. However, some medicines are used by the doctors that help in checking the symptoms to some extent enabling a person to lead a healthy life.

The medical community is trying to find new treatment options for Dementia. Some of the latest therapies for dementia are antioxidants, stem cell therapy and immunization. An herb named Gingko biloba is said to be effective in preventing the ailment. However, its effectiveness is disputed.

Dementia slows down the way the brain functions, therefore a person affected with the disease is advised to play games that requires mental sharpening like crosswords and solving puzzles. Antidepressant medicines are also used to treat patients of dementia.

Advice

As the disease has no specific cure, it would be best if one can prevent it from happening. This can be done by living an active life both physically and mentally. There is an opinion that moderate intake of alcohol on a regular basis can diminish the chances of dementia.

Recent studies suggest that eating beta carotene rich supplement can keep the disease at bay. A person suffering from the disease should quit driving as it can lead to fatal consequences.

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