Types of Dementia
The term dementia refers to a chronic Chronic
A long-standing and continual disease process is referred to as being chronic.
, usually progressive Progression
A disease that is increasing in severity; going from bad to worse over time. problem of cognition Cognition
The mental processes associated with knowing and understanding thoughts and perceptions about one's environment.. This failure of the functions of the brain usually affects memory Memory
The ability to process information that requires attention, storage, and retrieval. and almost always affects judgment, decision-making and relationships with others. The rate of failure happens at different speeds and affects different parts of the brain for each person.
Two things make dementia into a syndrome and not just the memory complaints that most of us have. First, other parts of cognition are affected - usually language, but also attention and concentration, the ability to do simple calculations, or to draw (for example, to draw a clock).
There are many types of dementia, but the most common is Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease
A neurological disease that affects memory and behaviour. It is characterized by beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. There is no known cause but genetics and lifestyle are thought to play a role.. Other types of dementia are diagnosed based on some of their characteristic findings. Because Alzheimer's disease is so common, it is often useful to contrast the other dementias with Alzheimer's disease. Most of the other problems seen in these other dementias are also seen in Alzheimer's disease. What happens in the other dementias is that they are seen 'out of order' in comparison to what we see with Alzheimer's disease. For example, many people with Alzheimer's disease eventually have trouble walking, but this is a late sign Sign
In medicine a sign is what a physician finds by examining a patient. For example, a patient with the symptom of pain might have signs of a fast heart rate, a pale face, a clammy touch and tenderness.. When someone with dementia is seen to have a problem with walking early in the course of their illness, that suggests another cause, such as vascular Vascular
Relating to blood vessels that carry blood throughout the body. dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies Lewy bodies
Round clumps of protein found in the brain's neurons in many people who experience a neurodegenerative disorder., Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease
A progressive, neurodegenerative disease characterized by the death of neurons in the brain. The disease has been linked to a lack of the neurotransmitter dopamine which has consequences such as tremors, speech impediments, movement difficulties, and often dementia later in the course of the disease. dementia, or some type of frontotemporal dementia Frontotemporal dementia
A type of dementia that mainly affects the frontal lobe causing a problem in executive function tasks..
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