Related topics: brain , disease , alzheimer s disease
Dementia
hideDementia (meaning "deprived of mind") is a cognitive impairment. It may be static, the result of a unique global brain injury or progressive, resulting in long-term decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the body beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Although dementia is far more common in the geriatric population, it may occur in any stage of adulthood. This age cutoff is defining, as similar sets of symptoms due to organic brain syndrome or dysfunction, are given different names in populations younger than adult. Up to the end of the nineteenth century, dementia was a much broader clinical concept.
Dementia is a non-specific illness syndrome (set of signs and symptoms) in which affected areas of cognition may be memory, attention, language, and problem solving. It is normally required to be present for at least 6 months to be diagnosed; cognitive dysfunction which has been seen only over shorter times, particularly less than weeks, must be termed delirium. In all types of general cognitive dysfunction, higher mental functions are affected first in the process. Especially in the later stages of the condition, affected persons may be disoriented in time (not knowing what day of the week, day of the month, or even what year it is), in place (not knowing where they are), and in person (not knowing who they are or others around them). Dementia, though often treatable to some degree, is usually due to causes which are progressive and incurable.
Symptoms of dementia can be classified as either reversible or irreversible, depending upon the etiology of the disease. Less than 10 percent of cases of dementia are due to causes which may presently be reversed with treatment. Causes include many different specific disease processes, in the same way that symptoms of organ dysfunction such as shortness of breath, jaundice, or pain are attributable to many etiologies. Without careful assessment of history, the short-term syndrome of delirium (often lasting days to weeks) can easily be confused with dementia, because they have all symptoms in common, save duration, and the fact that delirium is often associated with over-activity of the sympathetic nervous system. Some mental illnesses, including depression and psychosis, may also produce symptoms which must be differentiated from both delirium and dementia.
For more information about Dementia, read the full article at
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News tagged with dementia
Blood test identifies women at risk from Alzheimer's
Nov 06, 2009 |
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Middle-aged women with high levels of a specific amino acid in their blood are twice as likely to suffer from Alzheimer's many years later, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. ...
Biofield therapies: Helpful or full of hype?
Oct 29, 2009 |
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Biofield therapies, which claim to use subtle energy to stimulate the body's healing process, are promising complementary interventions for reducing the intensity of pain in a number of conditions, reducing anxiety for hospitalized ...
Statins show dramatic drug and cell dependent effects in the brain
Oct 28, 2009 |
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Besides their tremendous value in treating high cholesterol and lowering the risk of heart disease, statins have also been reported to potentially lower the risks of other diseases, such as dementia. However, a study in the ...
Member of NFL Hall of Fame diagnosed with degenerative brain disease
Oct 28, 2009 |
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The Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) announced today that a recently deceased member of the NFL Hall of Fame suffered from the degenerative brain disease ...
Older patients with dementia at increased risk for flu mortality
Oct 27, 2009 |
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An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza (P&I) in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher ...
Alzheimer's lesions found in the retina
Oct 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but new research indicates they also may mirror a brain ravaged by Alzheimer's disease.
Blood test shows promise for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease
Oct 21, 2009 |
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Elderly people exhibiting memory disturbances that do not affect their normal, daily life suffer from a condition called "mild cognitive impairment" (MCI). Some MCI patients go on to develop Alzheimer's disease within a few ...
Dying from dementia: NEJM editorial advocates for palliative care
Oct 14, 2009 |
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A growing number of older adults are dying from dementia. In an editorial in the October 15, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Greg Sachs, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Division of Genera ...
New study says dementia is a terminal illness
Oct 14, 2009 |
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The clinical course of advanced dementia, including uncomfortable symptoms such as pain and high mortality, is similar to that experienced by patients of other terminal conditions, according to scientists at the Institute ...
Skills tests like 'connect the dots' may be early Alzheimer's indicator
Oct 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A study of mental decline in the years prior to diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease suggests that changing the focus of testing may help physicians detect signs of the disease much earlier. School of Medicine ...
A balancing act in Parkinson's disease: Phosphorylation of alpha-synuclein
Oct 12, 2009 |
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Both genetic and pathologic data indicate a role for the neuronal protein alpha-synuclein in Parkinson disease. Previous studies have indicated that phosphorylation of alpha-synuclein at amino acid 129 (Ser129) is a key event ...
Declines in other thinking and learning skills may precede memory loss in Alzheimer's disease
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 12, 2009 |
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Cognitive abilities other than memory, including visuospatial skills needed to perceive relationships between objects, may decline years prior to a clinical diagnosis in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to a report ...
Half-million low-income elderly affected by sweeping cuts to state safety net
Oct 01, 2009 |
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An 81-year-old San Francisco woman with dementia, little money and an equally aged caregiver sister who is suffering from cancer.
Problems managing money may surface shortly before Alzheimer's disease sets in
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Sep 21, 2009 |
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New research finds poor money management skills may indicate that a person with mild memory problems will soon develop Alzheimer's disease. The study is published in the September 22, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the me ...
Progress towards Alzheimer's vaccine: Israeli researcher
Sep 21, 2009 |
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An Israeli researcher working on a vaccine to combat Alzheimer's disease said on Monday he had made important progress following tests on gene-altered laboratory mice.
