Cognitive Impairment With Older Age

There are several causes of dementia some of them are; a stroke, brain disease, MS, certain medications, shrinkage of the brain, too many opiates over a long period of time and severe alcoholism

There are many different forms of dementia and each has its own cause. Some of the main type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common form of dementia affecting 50%-70% of dementia patients (Alzheimer's australia, 2005). This is a degenerative illness which attacks the brain, this is achieved buy tangles which are in the middle of shrunken brain cells and plaques which eventually cause the brain cells to die meaning information can no longer be recalled or assimilated. There are also other types of dementia which include vascular dementia which is caused by circulation of the blood to the brain, Parkinson’s disease which is a disorder of the

Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body disease, a series of strokes or even a group of symptoms which may result from brain injury, vitamin/hormonal imbalance, drugs and alcohol. These diseases have factors in common and can cause a person to have their mental

As people get old a few of them will experience changes in cognition with age related capacity rather than intellectual capacity. There are some people who get both disparities of mentally and physically impaired that will led into depression due to aging process of their body. Even though, the forgetfulness is a common among older adults, we as healthcare providers must evaluate altered mental status of the patients. “The evaluation and management of altered mental status are broad and require careful history and physical examination to eliminate life-threatening situations”(Patti & Dulebohn, 2017). Therefore, it is very important to recognize the importance of difference between normal age-related symptoms and developing new health problems that can arise in this specific population. As elders get older their memory lapses it frustrating to them leading them to be more worried about changes in their memory. Nurses have a unique capability to promote a cognitive health and determine the possibilities of potential cases of the impairment in elders. The movie “On Golden Pond” Mr. Norman was a perfect example and showed that his symptoms were interfering with his everyday live when he almost burns down the house with fire, calling Bill by his daughter’s name Chelsea and getting lost in on the lake. Even though, Mr. Norman had heart and dementia problems his wife never discouraged him to do what he liked such as

What are people willing to do to maintain a healthy mind and body? A former emperor of china, Qin Shi Huang, killed himself trying to live forever by consuming age-stopping mercury pills. In the 1400's Pope Innocent VIII believed by transfusing three young boys blood into himself he would absorb their youth, he died in the process. In the 1800's Leonard Jones ran for president with the promise to achieve immortality, he believed this would be accomplished through prayer and fasting, later that year pneumonia led to his death.

Dementias are neurodegenerative disorders and Alzheimer’s disease is just one type. Although the most frequent cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, there are many causes of dementia. Saying someone has dementia is actually not a diagnosis it’s more of a clinical syndrome. Like saying someone has heartburn or a headache, the underlying cause of the dementia must be uncovered in order to classify it. Dementia impairs cognitive function in many different ways. It can involve memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and perception (Radin, 2003, p. 29). Some classifications of dementia include: frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular dementia, but other degenerative diseases such as Huntington’s

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with relentlessly progressive losses in cognition, memory, and language. According to research by Herbert, Weuve, Sherr, and Evans (2013), 5.3 million people are affected by AD, and that number is expected to almost triple by the middle of the century. As cognitive decline progresses, independence and the ability to perform self-care is lost as caregivers must assume this considerable burden. Given the prevalence of AD, its devastating pathology, and its impact on loved ones and caregivers, the social impact of this disease cannot be overstated.

Age related memory impairment: Age related memory loss, is an inevitable part of getting older, the brain slows down as does the processing of information mild cognitive impairment. Signs that an individual has age related impairment are forgetfulness, losing things, names of people they know, roads they know, easily distracted, slower at accessing information as quick as they used to. This is all normal and to be expected as we get older, and is not considered serious as long as the individual, is able to live independently, common sense, achieve tasks as they have always done and are able to hold a conversation, occassionaly forgetting the odd word, be able to recall information forgotten earlier. Severe memory loss is cause for concern and could be a sign Dementia, signs that differ from aged related are that dementia affects an individual’s ability to function, it disables them, disrupting their work, social activities, and family relationships. Individuals with dementia will have difficulty performing their usual day to day tasks like paying bills, washing up, changing clothes, forgetting how to do things they have done many times before. They often don’t remember times when they have had memory loss even when it is recalled to them. Get lost and disorientated easily even when in familiar surroundings, repetitive phrases and stories often in the same conversation.

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 in itself is not a disease but rather a syndrome, it is a term used to describe a group of symptoms that have to do with a person’s decline in memory function, ability to think clearly, reasoning, and communication skills that are significant enough to disrupt their activities of daily living (ADL). Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia, it is a progressive brain disease that affects your memory and cognitive function (Dementia vs. Alzheimer’s, 2016). As dementia or Alzheimer’s disease progresses, a person’s ability to perform ADL will become increasingly harder, making it necessary for them to receive assistance from either a caregiver or family member.

As the Baby Boomer era has now grown up, there is subsequently a large increase in the number of elderlies in the United States. One of the largest generations reaching elderly status also brings an increase in curiosity on their health; particularly their mental health. With nearly 69% of practicing psychologist working with older patients, it is clear that there is a particular interest in how the elderly behave and think (Kring & Johnson, 2015). This curiosity and prevalence of elderlies brings along an increase awareness of commonly thought “elderly specific” illnesses and disorders. One major area that is often associated with the elderly is memory loss, more appropriately labeled as Dementia. However, not all areas of Dementia are reserved for the elderly.

A study was carried out by Finkel, Reynolds, McArdle, Gatz, & Pedersen, (2003), and the findings were that adults’ fluid intelligence, which refers to the individual’s capabilities such as abstraction, problem-solving, associative memory, and inductive reasoning may diminish slightly after adolescence. Crystallized intelligence, which refers to skills such as verbal comprehension and word relationship might increase because of learning and experience as people gets older. “Measures of crystallized ability demonstrated stable or increasing levels of performance for middle age. For highly speeded task decline occurred at age 65” (Finkel, Reynolds, McArdle, Gatz, & Pedersen, 2003, p. 547). Reaction time or speed of performance seems to differ with individuals and can either diminish or remain the same. Memory is maintained through young and middle

Dementia is one mental disease that causes mental deterioration but what’s dementia? Dementia is a collection of symptoms including memory loss, personality change, and impaired intellectual functions that result from disease or trauma to the brain. These changes can affect someone’s daily living. You can figure out if someone is suffering this disease by pay attention to the way they communicate, someone suffering from dementia will complain of memory loss if only if asked, will get lost in familiar places, may behave in socially inappropriate ways. There are some ways you can try to prevent this disease for example you should start a regular exercise routine, including cardio and strength training may reduce the

Dementia is group of neuropathological disorders, and it is progressive and incurable disease. It is also most common in elderly people. Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning—thinking, remembering, and reasoning—and behavioral abilities to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities. These functions include memory, language skills, visual perception, problem solving, self-management, and the ability to focus and pay attention. Some people with dementia cannot control their emotions, and their personalities may change. Dementia ranges in severity from the mildest stage, when it is just beginning to affect a person’s functioning, to the most severe stage, when the person must depend completely on others for basic activities of living. The most common types of dementia are Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia .

There are many disease processes that culminate in the onset of dementia; the most common of which is Alzheimer’s disease. The syndrome is frequently associated with a progressive decline in brain function and the associated physical and mental abilities, including memory, language and cognitive function.