Imbecility – Dementia

Dementia

What is dementia?

Dementia (imbecility) – mental decline. It can include the loss of the ability to think, reason, to know and understand. To qualify as dementia, the loss of mental abilities must be sufficiently severe. Patients should also have dementia:

• Problems with memory;
• Serious mental disorders, adversely affecting the:
  • Speech;
  • Visuospatial functions;
  • Predvidenie, planning, forecasting of events;
  • Motor abilities.

Causes of dementia

The causes of dementia can be:

• Alzheimer's Disease – the most common cause of dementia;
• Brain damage after multiple small strokes (the so-called vascular dementia);
• Dementia with Lewy telytsami;
• Alcoholism;
• AIDS;
• Multiple sclerosis;
• Huntington's disease;
• Parkinson's Disease;
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other prion diseases;
• Running and cut-visochnaya dementia (including Pick's disease);
• Normotenzivnaя gidrocefaliя;
• Untreated syphilis;
• Toxic levels of heavy metals in the body;
• Vitamin B12 deficiency;
• thiamine deficiency;
• Thyroid dysfunction.

Risk factors for dementia

The main risk factor for dementia is old age. Other factors, that may increase the risk of dementia include:

• Family members with dementia;
• Down's syndrome;
• Elevated cholesterol;
• A few strokes;
• High blood pressure;
• Diabetes;
• High cholesterol;
• Obesity;
• Lack of physical activity;
• Avitaminoz;
• Long-term drug use;
• Long-term use of hormone replacement therapy;
• Repetitive head trauma (frequent during contact sports);
• Being overweight or obese.

Symptoms of dementia

The symptoms of dementia often develop over a relatively long period of time. Symptoms vary depending on the causes of dementia, but often include:

• Difficulty remembering these things:
  • How to get to a familiar place;
  • Who are the family members and friends;
  • Where in the house kept different things;
  • How to perform simple mathematical operations;
  • How to perform daily tasks, such as cooking, dressing, washing;
• I have problems with concentration;
• Difficulties with speech due to the loss / forgetting the words (may progress to complete inability to speak);
• Forgetting dates, time of day, seasons;
• Loss of interest in any activity;
• Mood swings;
• Personality changes;
• Slow, shuffling gait;
• Deterioration of coordination.
• The absence of purposeful movement.

Diagnosis of dementia

A doctor can diagnose dementia by the following procedures:

• The study of medical history of the patient and family;
• Observing the behavior of the patient;
• Medical checkup;
• Testing the functions of the nervous system;
• Mental status and psychological tests.

There are no specific tests, who can diagnose Alzheimer's disease. Some types of diagnostic (Taking Pictures) brain, such as SPECT or PET can help in the diagnosis of dementia. Tests, allowing to rule out other diseases, that can mimic dementia, include:

• Blood tests;
• Spinnomozgovaya puncture – Analysis of fluid of the brain and spinal cord;
• Electroencephalogram (EEG) – test, which records the electrical activity of the brain.

For the diagnosis may need pictures of internal organs and structures. For this purpose, applied:

• CT scan;
• MRT.

The doctor will also check, if you have depression. Severe depression can often be similar to dementia.

Treatment of dementia

Currently, there are no methods of full treatment of dementia. Some medications can help reduce the symptoms of dementia or slow its progression.

Medications for the treatment of dementia

To reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease can be used two kinds of preparations:

• Cholinesterase inhibitors;
• Antagonists of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors;

Preparations for the treatment of dementia, who investigated:

• Inhibitors of gamma-secretase;
• Tau fiber aggregation inhibitors;
• Herbs and Supplements, such as vitamin E, ginkgo biloba, or huperzine A. Currently, there are conflicting data regarding the effectiveness of these natural remedies.

Lifestyle changes

This type of support is critical for people with dementia. Support includes:

• Creating a secure environment in the home;
• Calm, quiet, predskazuemaya environment;
• Using glasses and hearing aids, easy to read clocks and calendars;
• Music and / or dance therapy;
• Physical and occupational therapy in daily activities;
• Perform light exercise to reduce confusion and facilitate depression;
• Healthy eating.

Psychotropic drugs for the treatment of dementia

Patients with dementia often have symptoms of mental disorders. Maybe, doctor will prescribe taking certain psychotropic drugs, such as:

• Antidepressants;
• Uspokoitelynoe drugs;
• Mood stabilizers;
• Antipsychotics.

Prevention of dementia

Although the exact cause of dementia is unknown, Some measures can help reduce the risk of disease:

• Eat a healthy diet. This will help you maintain normal levels of vitamin B12 and cholesterol;
• Exercise regularly. This will help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and the occurrence of vascular dementia;
• Drinking moderate amounts may reduce the risk of dementia (no more 80 grams of strong alcohol a day for men, and 40 grams per day for women). However, large amounts of alcohol contrary, increase the risk of dementia;
• It is necessary to stimulate mental activity. This will reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.