Stainton Lodge & Stainton Way Basic Information on Dementia

What is Dementia?

  • Dementia is a term used to describe severe changes in the brain. When these changes occur, they cause memory loss. They also make it difficult for people to perform basic daily activities. In most people, dementia causes changes in behavior and personality.

Dementia affects three parts of the brain: the areas for language, memory and decision-making.

Most cases of dementia are caused by disease and cannot be reversed. Alcohol and drug abuse can sometimes cause dementia. In those cases, sometimes it’s possible to reverse the damage in the brain. According to the Cleveland Clinic, less than 20 percent of cases of dementia can be reversed.

Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. Between 60 and 80 percent of cases of dementia are caused by this disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Early signs of Alzheimer’s disease include depression and forgetting names and recent events.

Alzheimer’s causes brain cells to die. As the chemistry of the brain changes, patients experience confusion and mood changes. They also have trouble speaking and walking.

Elderly people are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. Only five percent of cases of Alzheimer’s occur in people in their 40s or 50s. This is known as early onset Alzheimer’s.

Vascular Dementia

The second most common type of dementia is Vascular dementia. It’s caused by lack of blood flow to the brain. Vascular dementia can happen as you age or after a stroke. People with advanced heart disease are also at risk for vascular dementia.

The symptoms of vascular dementia can appear slowly or suddenly, depending on what’s causing the disease. Confusion and disorientation are common early signs. Later on, patients also have trouble completing tasks or concentrating for long periods of time.

Vascular dementia also causes vision problems and sometimes hallucinations.

Dementia with Lewy Bodies

Lewy Body dementia is caused by protein deposits in nerve cells. This interrupts chemical messages in the brain and causes memory loss and disorientation.

People with this type of dementia also experience visual hallucinations and have problems with sleep. Sometimes they have trouble falling asleep at night yet fall asleep unexpectedly during the day. They might also faint or become lost or disoriented.

Dementia with Lewy Bodies also shares many symptoms with Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. For example, many patients develop trembling in their hands, have trouble walking, and feel weak.

Parkinson’s Disease

People with advanced Parkinson’s disease often develop dementia. The earlier signs of this type of dementia are problems with reasoning and judgment. For example, a person with Parkinson’s disease dementia might have trouble understanding visual information or remembering how to do simple daily tasks. Or they might have confusing or frightening hallucinations.

This type of dementia also causes a person to be irritable. Many patients become depressed or paranoid as the disease progresses. Others have trouble speaking and might forget words or get lost during a conversation.

Fronto-temporal Dementia

Fronto-temporal dementia is a name used to describe several types of dementia. They all have one thing in common: they affect the front and side parts of the brain. These are the areas that control language and behavior.

Fronto-temporal dementia affects people as young as 45 years old. Although scientists don’t know what causes it, it does run in families. According to the Alzheimer’s Society, many people who develop this type of dementia carry a mutation in genes GRN, MAPT or C9ORF72.

This dementia causes loss of inhibitions and motivation, as well as compulsive behavior. It also causes people to have problems with speech, including forgetting the meaning of common words.

 

 

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is one of the rarest forms of dementia. Only one in one million people are diagnosed with it every year, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. CJD progresses very quickly, and people often die within a year of diagnosis.

Symptoms of CJD are very similar to other forms of dementia. Some people experience agitation, while others suffer from depression. Confusion, loss of memory, and agitation are also common. CJD also affects the body, causing twitching and muscle stiffness.

Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

Korsakoff Syndrome is technically not a form of dementia. However, because the symptoms are so similar, it is usually classified along with other forms of dementia. Korsakoff syndrome is caused by a serious deficiency of vitamin B1. Although it can be a result of malnutrition or chronic infections, the most common cause for this vitamin deficiency is alcoholism.

People who suffer from this disorder have trouble processing information, learning new skills, and remembering things. Sometimes people with Korsakoff Syndrome make up information to fill in the gaps in their memories without realizing they are doing that.

Mixed Dementia

Mixed dementia refers to a condition in which a person has more than one type of dementia. The most common combination is vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s. Mixed dementia is very common. According to the Jersey Alzheimer’s Association, up to 45 percent of patients with dementia have mixed dementia but don’t know it.

Mixed dementia can cause different symptoms in different people. Some people experience memory loss and disorientation first, while others have behavior and mood changes. Most people with mixed dementia will have difficulty speaking and walking as the disease progresses

Other Causes of Dementia

Many diseases can cause dementia in the late stages. For example, people with multiple sclerosis can develop dementia. It’s also possible for people with HIV to develop cognitive impairment and dementia, especially if they’re not taking antivirals.

Normal pressure hydrocephalus is a condition caused by fluid accumulating in the brain. The pressure of the fluid leads to a number of health problems, including dementia. This is one of the types of dementia that can sometimes be cured with surgery.

What Is Frontal Lobe Dementia?

Frontal lobe dementia isn’t one condition. It’s several disorders that affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. Personality, emotions, behavior and speech are controlled in these areas of the brain. These disorders cause the brain to lose brain cell function.

Frontal lobe dementia is also sometimes called frontotemporal dementia. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, frontal lobe dementia accounts for 10 to 15 percent of all dementia cases.

Symptoms

The symptoms of frontal lobe dementia depend on the areas of the brain affected. Most symptoms can be divided into one of two categories: behavior or language.

Common behavioral symptoms of frontal lobe dementia include:

  • inappropriate actions
  • apathy
  • lack of inhibition or restraint
  • neglect of personal hygiene and care
  • compulsive behavior

Common language-related symptoms of frontal lobe dementia include:

  • difficulty speaking or understanding speech
  • language recall problems

The Three Kinds of Frontal Lobe Dementia

Doctors and researchers divide frontal lobe dementia into three categories. These include:

    • Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. This type mainly affects personality and behavior.
    • Primary progressive aphasia. This type affects speech at first. As it develops, it begins to affect behavior.
    • Progressive nonfluent aphasia. People with this variant lose their ability to recall words easily. Their speech grows more difficult.

The type of frontal lobe dementia is determined by the most prominent symptoms.

Risk Factors

Frontal lobe dementia has one known risk factor: your genes. Scientists have found several genes related to frontal lobe dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. If one of your family members is diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia, you have a greater risk. If you are diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia, your family members will have a higher risk, too.

Not everyone with a family history will develop a problem. More than half of the individuals diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia do not have a family history.

Causes

Researchers have not identified a single cause for this type of dementia, but they have some ideas. Some people’s brains develop abnormal protein structures. These structures are called Pick bodies, so this type of dementia is called Pick’s disease.

Researchers have also identified abnormal proteins that may play a role. These proteins, found in brain cells of individuals who died with dementia, may affect how the brain works. Unfortunately, however, researchers do not know why these proteins develop or how to prevent them.

Diagnosis

Doctors cannot diagnose frontal lobe dementia with a single test. Instead, your doctors will try to rule out other conditions or diseases that cause similar symptoms.

Some of the tests used to diagnose frontal lobe dementia include:

  • Blood tests. These can help identify other possible causes.
  • Neuropsychological testing. These tests check your judgment and memory skills. They can help you doctors decide what type of dementia you may have.
  • Brain imaging. Doctors will check for obvious problems, such as tumors or blood clots.
  • A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test gives doctors a detailed image of your brain.
  • CT scan. A computerized tomography (CT) scan creates images of your brain in layers.

 

 

Treatment

Frontal lobe dementia cannot be cured. Treatment is aimed at on managing and alleviating symptoms.

Common treatments include:

  • Medications. Some antidepressants can help reduce the behavioral problems caused by changes to the brain. Antipsychotic medications are also used to treat behavioral problems. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved any of these treatments.
  • Speech therapy. Speech therapy can help you learn to cope with speech difficulties. A speech therapist can also help you find alternative ways to communicate.

Lifestyle Treatments

Medication can be effective for treating dementia, but lifestyle treatments can help, too. Helping people find a comfortable environment can help them cope with the symptoms of dementia.

Environment is important. Maintaining an environment that does not upset someone is vital. People with behavior problems need to be in environments that are familiar. They may also need to avoid large crowds.

People with speech problems may need to be in environments where communication is easier. They may wish to keep tools for communicating, like a pen and paper, with them all the time.

Prognosis

In the early stages, the symptoms and signs of frontal lobe dementia can be cared for and treated with good results. Late-stage frontal lobe dementia can take years to develop. As the disease progresses, 24-hour care may become necessary.

Frontal lobe dementia shortens a person’s life span. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, most people with a frontal lobe dementia disorder live an average of six to eight years after the first symptoms appear. In some cases, people live as few as two years.

Getting Help for Frontal Lobe Dementia

If a loved one is experiencing difficulty with speech or noticeable changes in behavior, make an appointment to speak with their doctor. Try to attend the appointment with them. Make a list of incidents that you have noticed. It can help a doctor determine what steps to take for diagnosing the symptoms.

If you’ve been diagnosed with a frontal lobe dementia disorder or are caring for someone who has, find support groups in your area. The health education office of your local hospital should be able to help you find support groups. Learning to cope with the effects of frontal lobe dementia can be difficult, but help is available.