Dementia Observation Report

Literature Review: The Effectiveness of the use of Sensory Therapy for Elderly Adults Diagnosed with Dementia.

What other potentially treatable factors might have led to Mrs. Yowell’s deteriorating mental function? There are many reasons that Mrs. Yowell may have impaired mental functioning (see Table 1). The first and easiest reason to rule out would be a urinary tract infection (UTI). A urine sample can show if there are white blood cells (indicating infection) present in the urine. The increased levels of bacteria in an elderly person’s body can cause toxicity which leads to the altered mental status (Midthun, 2004). Most noted changes are confusion, agitation and lethargy.

Dementia is a term used to describe symptoms associated with decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to interfere with a person’s ability to perform daily activities. According to studies, more than 5 million people are living with Alzheimer’s and that number is projected to triple by 2050.

The impact of dementia is a mounting global health problem and through worldwide education the incidence and prevalence can be diminished. Global education is critical with the projected dementia incidence, the lack awareness and understanding of dementia, no dementia cure and the associated stigma. These factors combined have a major impact on the person with dementia and society. No solo country, sector or organisation can encounter this global health problem by themselves.

Dementia is a syndrome, which is usually of a chronic or progressive nature, which causes deterioration in cognitive function. It goes beyond what is expected from normal aging. It causes changes in what you remember, like appointments, or phone numbers. It may cause you to get lost in a familiar setting like driving to the grocery store. You may not be able to balance your checkbook or add up your points in a card game. Communication becomes difficult; as you cannot find the words you want to say. Your personality may change, you may become paranoid, be crabby or short tempered, and you may say or do inappropriate things or laugh when nothing is funny. Dementia is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people

Dementia originated from the Latin language meaning ‘mind gone’. The course of the disease declines to the last stage and the person will forget majority of his or her memory. The patient will go about his or her normal ways during the first stage of dementia; eyes and mind are clear. During the beginning of the last stage, the patient will depend on the caretaker for his or her needs and will not recall the things he or she has learned. In the last phase of the last stage, the patient will be “born again”, meaning he or she will derive from the end of his life to the beginning. Similar to the Alzheimer’s disease, the nerve cells in the brain become short. The brain will not function properly because of the shrinkage of the nerve cells, but

The early onset symptoms of dementia could be missed due to various reasons. Many people consult with their regular physician who may not know too much about dementia and its symptoms. A brief office visit is another factor; this short time does not give the patient and doctor enough

Over three million people every year are diagnosed with a group of conditions, called dementia. Dementia is not a disease itself, but instead is a term that is used to describe a range of symptoms. Actual diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and strokes, can cause dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause for dementia; it accounts for sixty to eighty percent of all dementia cases. Incorrectly, dementia is sometimes called “senility.” This is incorrect because the term “senility” portrays dementia and its symptoms as normal signs of aging, which is not the case.

Nicole, I too am fascinated with how the brain differs in patients with Dementias. I am also curious about comparing the brains of those people who have suffered many concussions, those with dementias/AD and those healthy brains. If I had the opportunity I would like to observe a medical examination of brains from decceased with all 3 differences. I do not mean to be morbid, but I feel that would be very interesting. Research sometimes comes in very uncomfortable situations and forms .

Alzheimer’s and dementia are often thought of as an old age disease. Although the most commons risk factor is age but it is not the only one. Most majority of individuals do develop symptoms as elderly, but individuals that develop onset symptoms at a younger age, below 65 are said to develop early onset dementia (Lambert, M. A., Bickel, H., Prince, M., Fratiglioni, L., Von Strauss, E., Frydecka, D., & ... Reynish, E. L., 2014). Many researchers have conducted studies on the impact of cognitive disorders, such as dementia along with Alzhiemer’s, on the affects of the nonprofessional caregiver. Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t just affect the person but the affected person’s family and friends are affected as well.

People suffer from different kinds of Amnesia. Amnesia makes a person lose memory. Gives the possibility of waking up the next day not being able to remember what you did the day before. Dementia is one of the serious cases. Dementia is a mental disorder in which severe forgetfulness, mental confusion, and mood swings are the primary symptoms.

I had done some searching for a topic and found one on CNN news. I chose the topic: Dementia. The definition of dementia is; a chronic or persistent disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning. It is not a specific disease because it varies a wide range of symptoms that deals with daily thinking or ability to do things with daily living. Alzheimer's is a part of dementia and accounts for 60 - 80 percent of cases. Vascular dementia is the second leading cause of dementia which occurs after a stroke. There are many other conditions of dementia which can be reversible, such as thyroid problems and vitamin deficiencies. People with dementia have a

Dementia Caused by Stoke Forgetting loved ones, favorite foods, and even how to put on clothes in the morning. All are signs of people who go through some sort of dementia. These people will never fully regain the memory that once use to be so cherished and held onto. Dementia can happen fast and even without warning. One week a person could be mowing the lawn and having normal conversations, then have a stroke and forget his grandson’s name. Stroke and dementia result in both long and short term disability and worldwide both are major health and social care issues (Greenwood 2016). Dementia has a huge impact on people’s lives and even can cause people to do harm to one another. Not knowing is the scariest thing a human can feel.

Dementia is a brain disorder usually irreversible that appears in elderly people with a number of symptoms that cause decreased mental ability of the patient who comes to seriously affect the performance of the basic activities of daily routine and it also has a strong impact on the family. However, most of the time, only receive treatments and therapies the person who is suffering the disease leaving his or her environment outside when it requires special care. I think the family should not be excluded because it is the nucleus where the patient lives and it is mostly emotional support. Understand and address it outside the family context is to deny that the disease necessarily involves alterations in the family system. There is no cure for

Dementia is caused by loss of brain cells, and shrinkage of brain tissue. This damage leads to increased challenges the brain cells now have to overcome. Neural pathways are the ways our brain cells communicates with one another, so dementia interrupts and negatively affects this process.