What Is Dementia?

Dementia is a loss of brain function. If affects memory, thinking, language, judgement and behaviour. Dementia is progressive, so the symptoms will gradually get worse. In a later stage of dementia people will find it hard to carry out daily tasks and will come dependant on other people.

Dementia can cause the sufferer to experience loss of mental ability, loss of memory, a reduced understanding, and judgement. Dementia can also cause problems with language.

As people age, it is natural for them to experience a mild degree of memory loss. However, some cases can be much more severe, and can have a variety of causes. When loss of memory and other mental functions becomes more severe, the condition is known as dementia. Dementia is caused by a variety of disorders, but

Dementia Syndrome is a condition caused by a set of symptoms. These symptoms can include but are not limited to: - memory loss, mood changes, communication difficulties, difficulty understanding or thinking.

Dementia is a term used to describe a collection of signs and symptoms that happen to the brain when it is affected by the progression of certain diseases such as vascular dementia (when brain cells die due to lack of oxygen) and Alzheimer’s disease (a specific brain disease). Some of the affects these diseases have are on a person’s memory, language and communication abilities, behaviour and ability to make rational judgements.

Dementia is a broad term used to describe the symptoms that occur when the brain is affected by specific diseases and conditions.Dementia is a progressive disease and the symptoms will get gradually worse.

Dementia affects the brain by stopping communication between the nerve cells causing them to die which will have an impact in the way the brain works.

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 is not a specific disease, however it is a group of diseases that interfere with daily activities that involve memory and social abilities. Dementia affects at least two parts of the brain, which includes memory loss, impaired judgement, or language. But even though memory loss is a part of Dementia, it doesn’t mean you have it. There is a certain extent of memory loss that is a normal part of aging. There are many types of Dementia, but the most common type is Alzheimer’s Disease. Many diseases of dementia are not curable, but if the cause is treated the disease may improve greatly.

Dementia is damage of nerve cells in several areas of the brain and affects people differently based on the location of the damaged nerve cells. The type of dementia is usually grouped by what they have in common, as in the area of the brain affected or whether they are progressive (worsen over time). There also some dementias that are caused by a reaction to medications or vitamin deficiencies and can possibly improve with treatment.

Dementia is “The loss of intellectual function, such as thinking and memory, which interferes with daily function. It is not a disease in itself, but a group of symptoms that may accompany a condition, all of which produce a gradual decline in intellectual function and almost always a significant deterioration of memory.”(Health Reference Center)

Dementia is a broad term that encompasses a variety of different diseases and syndromes(The dementia timebomb, 2013). About 38 million in the united states and 820,000 in the United Kingdom are diagnosed with one of the over 100 types of dementia. It is also and aged related condition, so most people inflicted with it are older rather than younger. A person can have multiple forms of dementia or a disease such as alzheimer's diseases that involves dementia symptoms. Symptoms of dementia include: memory loss, disorientation, loss of motor skills, not being able to eat or drink, depression and even hallucinations. Most of these symptoms are caused due to a problem within the central nervous system, more specifically the brain. As the condition progresses so do the symptoms related to it. In the later stages of the condition, many patients have been noted to have vivid hallucinations that they believe to be real life events. They may not be able to recognize their own loved ones, but sometimes are able to recall back on old memories. In some patients they forget the time and place and even resort back to being a child again (Jenkins C McKay A, 2013).

Dementia cannot be categorized as a specific disease—it's rather a set of symptoms that interfere with cognitive abilities like: memory, language, judgment, communication, and thinking. Usually, dementia starts with memory loss and gradually gets severe enough to interfere with day-to-day life.

Dementia is a syndrome, not a disease, unlike Alzheimer’s. It occurs when certain brain cells are damaged by various infections, diseases or imbalances. This damage interferes with the ability of brain cells to communicate with each other. When brain cells cannot communicate normally, thinking, behavior and feelings can be affected. Different brain cells are affected by different types of dementia. When cells in a particular region are affected, that area of brain function is affected.

“The word 'Dementia' is a term that describes a serious deterioration in mental functions, such as memory, language, orientation and judgement." (Dementia, Yvonne Nolan - Page 2)