The Common Causes and Symptoms of dementia

Premature death of large quantities of brain cells is what characterizes Dementia. Dementia is a progressive and degenerative disease that causes the patient to experience memory loss and disorientation due to the loss of nerve cells in the brain. This disease will progress over many years. Seventy-five percent of todays elderly age 65 or older are estimated to experience symptoms of this debilitating disease. Generally, dementia will not present itself before the age of 60.

Although several theories exist, the actual cause of dementia is unknown. There is speculation that dementia could be a result of long-term exposure to aluminum and copper from foods, cookware, antacids, antiperspirants, etc. Furthermore, a deficiency of vitamin B12, zinc, potassium, selenium and boron was also found to exist in most dementia patients. Other etiological considerations include genetics, environmental and pharmaceutical toxins, autoimmune factors, brain injury/trauma, cholinergic nerve destruction due to excitatory amino acids, gluten sensitivity or allergy to wheat, hypothyroidism, elevated homocysteine levels and excess cortisol from adrenals, which destroy optimal brain functioning.

The most common symptoms of dementia include memory loss, inability for abstract thought, impaired judgment, cognitive decline and the inability to carry out everyday tasks. As progression of this disease continues, short term memory lapse becomes acute memory loss. In its later stages, loss of vitality, acute anxiety, apprehension and mood swings and ineffective body movements become prevalent. In addition, intellectual ability such as inability to find the correct words or figure out simple mathematical calculations can also occur. Generally, night time can escalate these symptoms with violent behavior, belligerence, incontinence and involuntary actions; however there are some who become more docile and withdrawn.

It is important to keep in mind that some prescription drugs can cause age-related symptoms such as described above. In addition, certain drugs can cause memory deficits or altered psychological behavior. Therefore, be sure to assess the patient thoroughly and carefully prepare nutritious meals that are high in vitamin B. It has been found that many older individuals suffer from malnutrition, which can cause a number of psychological symptoms ranging from depression to dementia. Consequently, it is vital that diet be assessed and that vitamin and mineral supplements are added to determine if nutritional depletion is the cause.

There are two broad categories for dementia, the subcortical dementias and the cortical dementias, depending upon which part of the brain is affected.

Subcortical dementia results from a decline of function in the parts of the brain that are beneath the cortex. Typically, language difficulties and memory loss are characteristic of cortical dementias are not present. On the other hand, people with subcortical dementias, such as Parkinsons disease, Huntington’s disease, and AIDS dementia complex, tend to show changes in personality and attention span. Furthermore, thinking tends to slow down.

Language and memory are the areas affected by cortical dementias. They are a result of a disorder affecting the cerebral cortex which is the outer layer of the brain. The most commonly known diseases associated with this form include Alzheimer’s and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Patients afflicted with these two diseases experience extreme memory impairment and the inability to recall words and understand common language, also known as aphasia. Furthermore, multi-infarct dementia can occur where both areas of the brain are affected.