Diagnosing and Living with Dementia

I have been in care for a while and started out as a health care support worker so I have seen all different levels of progression with all different types of dementia. However the importance of early diagnosis is the same.

A proper diagnosis of dementia is essential, in order to rule out other conditions that may have symptoms similar to dementia and that may be treatable, including depression, chest and urinary infections, severe constipation and brain tumours . Also to rule out other possible causes of confusion, such as poor sight or hearing; emotional changes and upsets, such as moving or bereavement; or the side-effects of certain drugs or combinations of drugs. Folllow up diagnosis can enable a patient to access advice, information and support

Early diagnosis of dementia can have a huge impact on the individual and their family and friends.

Memory problems are usually the most obvious symptom in people with dementia. For example, a person with early stages of dementia might go to the shops and then cannot remember what they wanted. It is also common to misplace objects. As dementia progresses, sometimes memory loss for recent events is severe and the person may appear to be living in the past. They may think of themselves as young and not recognise their true age.

The term ‘dementia’ describes a set of symptoms which can include loss of memory, mood changes and problems with communication and reasoning. These symptoms occur when the brain is damaged by certain conditions and diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. 
Age is the greatest risk factor for dementia. Dementia affects one in 14 people over the age of 65 and one in six over the age of 80. However, dementia is not restricted to older people: in the UK, there are over 17,000 people under the age of 65 with dementia, although this figure is likely to be an underestimate.

There are many types of dementia, causing many different symptoms and treatments, it may take time to find the appropriate treatment/medication to suit the individual.

Globally, the World Health Organisation reports there are approximately 47.5 million people who have been diagnosed with a form of dementia and there are 7.7 million new cases each year. The number of people effected internationally is estimated to triple by 2050 to

Dementia is a progressive illness that usually occurs over a period of time one of the earliest signs of dementia is problems with a persons memory, this can result in the individual behaving and communicating differently .

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.

Boller and Forbes (1998) asserted that dementia is as old as human and that failure to understand the underlying symptoms made its discovery a nightmare to the medics. They suggested that non-existence of sophisticated medical systems incapacitated the discovery of the said disease, especially its epidemiology in the classical world. As time progressed, the world witnessed advanced technology particularly in the 20th

If the general practitioner diagnose someone with dementia early it will beneficial to carers and individuals because it will give them a better chance of benefiting from treatment. More time to plan ahead and lessened anxieties about unknown problem. Increased chances of participating in clinical drug trials, which in turn can help, advance research. An opportunity to participate in decisions about care, transportation, living options, financial and legal matters, time to develop a relationship with doctors and care partners. Benefit from care and support services, making it easier for them and their family to manage the disease. Alzheimer’s Navigator can help identify needs and create actions plans.

In many cases patients with dementia wait a long period of time to go to the doctor after they start experiencing symptoms because they think it is a natural part of aging. The patients with dementia notice symptoms far before their care givers do but do not explain them to anyone. The fact that the patients wait so long to see a doctor about their symptoms and the lack of knowledge of the disease by the patient and care givers is a major hindrance to getting an accurate diagnosis and care. The care givers of the dementia patients play a major role in the diagnosis process as results showed they either promote or hinder the start of the diagnosis process. Early detection is essential to helping the patients live the best lives possible with dementia. Although treatment does not cure dementia it is usually much more effective in slowing in the progression when started in the early stages and an early diagnosis

The WHO highlighted that “Poor understanding creates barriers to timely diagnosis and to accessing ongoing medical and social care, leading to a large gap in treatment” (WHO, 2012). However this could be avoided with proper creation of awareness & guidance for easy understanding of dementia, as well as eradication of stigmatizations which tend to devastate dementia patents and their family/carers even more (WHO, 2012).

Meanwhile, the director of research for Alzheimer’s Research UK added that current diagnostic measure used to detect the disease must be improved, because “25% of diagnoses by doctors of early-stage Alzheimer’s are incorrect...Obviously that figure has to improve. Indeed, we have to develop tests that will allow us to make accurate diagnoses at even earlier stages of the disease, before there has been a loss of brain function.”

According to government statistics, approximately 750,000 people in the United Kingdom currently have dementia, with an anticipation that this may rise to close to 1.7 million by 2051. Elderly patients are most frequently diagnosed with