Case Study Of Dementia

Nearly 135 million people worldwide will be impacted by dementia by 2050 (Robinson, Tang, Taylor,. 2015). Dementia is not a disease, it is an overall term that describes a wide range of symptoms associated with the decline in memory and thinking skills. Dementia is a progressive illness that results in the loss of one’s sense of self (Burns, Byrne, Ballard, Holmes, 2002). The two most common forms of dementia are Alzheimer’s disease and Vascular dementia. Dementia is progressive and people with dementia experience complications with short-term memory, keeping track of personal items, paying bills, taking care of themselves and daily tasks (Haigh, Mytton, 2016). Due to the rising number of individuals developing dementia, it is causing major challenges in the healthcare systems and society (Angermeter, Luck, Then, Riedel-Heller, 2016). Utilizing psychotropic medications are often ineffective or harmful to the individual, therefore, many patients decide to utilize sensory therapy as a form of treatment instead (Livingston, Kelly olmes, et al., 2014). Caregivers of individuals with dementia can also experience health consequences related to caregiving at the end of life. Spousal caregivers are 40.5% higher odds of experiencing frailty as a result of caregiving (Carr, Dassel, 2017). Dementia does not only affect the individual, it affects those around them, society, and the healthcare system.

This report provides detailed information regarding the Alzheimer’s disease, and how it affects the individual as a person. It examines the facts and statistics of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as cover the survival rate. It covers the cognitive impacts that Alzheimer’s has on the individual, and also the emotional profiles of each of its victims. Gives a general concept of how Alzheimer’s disease has evolved over the past years, and it also shares the advances that it has made. It addresses the role of the public health and aging services, and how it affects the person. It goes into detail on how the brain is affected by this disease, and the impact it can cause for the individual. Overall, it stresses the importance of being aware of the Alzheimer’s diseases because it allows for there to be support, encouragement, and hope for the victims. Just having someone there can make all the difference to someone suffering.

Dementia can be defined as a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life (alz.org). More than often, individuals affected by dementia are over the age of 65. In the United States, there are more than three million cases of dementia each year. According to World Health Organization, the number of people living with dementia is currently estimated at 47.5 million worldwide and is expected to increase to 75.6 million by 2030 (World Health Organization 2015). Dementia is caused by physical modifications in the brain and is known for loss of memory and mental abilities. It’s a progressive disease which means it gets worse over time. If diagnosed early on, the quality of life for people with dementia as well as their family members can be significantly improved. There are many different types of dementias although some are far more reciprocal than others. One of the most common types of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Other few types of dementias are “Vascular dementia, Mixed dementia, Parkinson 's disease and Frontotemporal dementia (Krishnan, D. S)”. All of the various forms of dementia tend to have similar symptoms which consequently makes it hard to determine the type of dementia a patient may be suffering from.

Dementia which was views as a disease is now viewed as a disability. It allows us to view people with dementia as individuals coping with their own impairment and entitled to an adequate quality of life and comfort. To do this it is necessary for us to shift our way of thinking from focusing on dementia as a disease that degenerative without a cure, to focusing on the whole person and seeing dementia as a disability of certain parts of the persons

Dementia refers to a syndrome which results in deterioration in thinking, memory, behavior, and ability to execute everyday activities and duties. Despite the fact that the syndrome is mainly associated with the older people, it is not a normal aspect or part of ageing. One of the major causes of dementia is the aspect of Alzheimer's disease. This disease contributes to about 60 to 70 percent of the cases of dementia. Dementia possesses psychological, physical, economic, and social impacts in relation to the family, caregivers, and the entire society. Dementia affects each individual in a diverse or different way with reference to the impact of the disease and personality following the development of the syndrome (Gao et al, 2013 p. 447).

Dementia is a disorder that leads to a gradual loss of the cognitive capacity of an individual, ultimately affecting one’s daily activities. Dementia does manifests through the accompanying disorders because it does not exist on its own. In other words, dementia is a disorder that comes about through the existence of the related disorders. The main ones are four, but they are not the only disorders that cause dementia. These include Lewy Bodies dementia (LBD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VD). Others include mixed dementia, Huntington’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus and Frontotemporal dementia. According to Ram (2006), these disorders have a broad spectrum of impacts on the patients besides having devastating effects on the overall economy of the world’s nations especially when the number is significantly high. The paper intends to dig out the milestones the dementia disorder has undergone.

An estimated 47.5 million people suffer from dementia. Every 4 seconds one new case of dementia is diagnosed. Dementia is a term that describes certain symptoms such as impairment to memory, communication and thinking. It is a group of symptoms and not just one illness. Even though one‘s chance of getting dementia increase with age, it is not a part of aging. Dementia is usually diagnosed after a series of assessments that includes a physical evaluation, memory tests, imaging studies and blood work. It affects three aspects of one’s mental function, cognitive dysfunction (Problems with memory, language, thinking and problem solving), psychiatric behavior (changes in personality, emotional control, social behavior and delusions) and difficulties with daily living activities (driving, shopping, eating and dressing). “The median survival time in women is 4.6 years and in men 4.1 years” (Warren, 2016).

Worldwide dementia numbers will grow significantly over the next forty years and create the necessity for improved dementia education. Today it is estimated over 46 million people live with dementia and projected to escalate to 131.5 million by 2050, a new case every 3.2 seconds (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2015). At present 58 percent of people with dementia live in low to middle income countries, this figure is expected to grow to 63 percent by 2030 and to 68 percent by 2050 (WHO, 2015). In table one it displays the chief projection rates will occur in low to middle income countries. However, Langa (2015) identified through education that nine studies over the last ten years have shown a declining risk of dementia incidence in high-income countries. So maybe the estimates in table one in high income country will not be accurate. Additionally, the United Nations predicts by 2050 there will be 83 countries where 20 per cent of their population is over the age of 65 (Rubinstein, Duggan, Landingham,

Dementia people are usually stayed in the nursing home. It is because their families are not able to take care of them, for physical or time reason. The effect of dementia brings out heavy economic, mental burden to the individual, family, caregivers and the whole society. (Brown & Edwards, 2005)Brown & Edwards (2005) stated ¡®In 2002-2003 the Australian government estimated total expenditure on residential aged care subsidies as $4.3 billion.¡¯ However, much health expenditure is not specifically attributed to dementia in hospital and other health service statistics. Moreover, Brown & Edwards (2005) pointed out that ¡®Residential care is costed at eight different levels of resident dependency.¡¯ High level residential care is primarily provided in nursing homes, low level residential care is provided in hostels, and community care is provided for aged clients in their homes. Dementia leads individuals to lose their live experiences, not only does it bring the financial cost to the families, but also the responsibilities to the caregivers.

Dementia is a neurodegenerative, progressively deteriorating and terminal clinical syndrome characterized by a loss or decline in memory and other cognitive abilities. Most recent scientific thinking is that dementia may be caused by various diseases and conditions affecting over 5 million Americans and 27.7 million worldwide. It is projected that the number of Americans with dementia will exceed 7.7 million by the year 2030 and from 11 to 16 million by the year 2050. There is presently not a cure for dementia.

“Dementia is characterized by chronic, global, non-reversible deterioration in memory, executive function, and personality. Speech and motor functions may also be impaired” (Butler and Radhakrishnan, 2011). As defined by Butler and Radharkrishnan, dementia is a disease that affects a person for their whole life. In the next part of this paper, I’m going to talk about the dementia and the effects it has on a person live whether it is with the symptoms, overall experience with it, and what exactly it does to the body. Dementia isn’t a fun disease to have or deal with. According to the World of Health Organization, over 35 million people have dementia (Robitaille, Garcia, & McIntosh, 2015). I’m mainly going to talk about the specific type of dementia Alzheimer’s. “Alzheimer’s disease is defined as a type of dementia characterized by an onset and slow deterioration, and involves impairments in memory, speech, personality, and executive function”(Butler and Radharkrishnan, 2011). Memory loss isn’t just the only thing that happens with dementia. They also experience impairments in language, communication, focus, and reasoning (Ellis, 2013).

The world population is aging and as this occurs, the prevalence of dementia will increase significantly (World Health Organization, 2012). Dementia is an illness in which a person’s memory and thinking decline, behavior changes increase, and the ability to perform everyday activities decline. Dementia mainly affects older people with 7.7 million new cases arising every year worldwide (World Health Organization, 2012). Currently, there are approximately 47.5 million people in the world with dementia and this is set to increase with the national ageing trends. According to World Health Organization (WHO) (2012), one of the most common types of dementia is Alzheimer 's disease which accounts for 60-70% of dementia cases. Increased disability and dependency is one of the major outcomes of dementia; it greatly impacts carers, families, and society physically, psychologically, socially, and economically. (World Health Organization, 2012).

Dementia is not considered a specific disease because it is such a broad disease there are many different types.

Dementia isn’t a single disease but rather a collective bunch of diseases with similar symptoms, with more than 100 different diseases. Dementia is characterised by a hindrance of brain functions which may/may not include: Language impairment, Memory Impairment, Perception impairment, personality impairment and thinking impairment. Each dementia disease has varied levels of impairment and progressive rates but is currently irreversible/incurable

Dementia is a collection of symptoms caused by disorders affecting the brain which impact on a person’s functioning, ranging from thinking to behaviour and the ability to perform ordinary tasks and there are different type of dementia with the most common types being Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and Parkinson’s disease (Keast, 2015). In 2009, nearly two-thirds (62%) of people identified as having dementia or Alzheimer 's disease were living in a health establishment such as a nursing home, an aged care hostel, or the cared component of a retirement village (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012). People with dementia experience problems with communicative, cognitive and emotional tasks.