Memory & Dementia

Dementia is not a disease but a group of specific symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic. These symptoms are often severe enough to impair the normal daily routines and functions in a person's life. The most common cause for dementia is Alzheimer's disease, according to the Mayo Clinic, but a myriad of causes can induce the symptoms of dementia.

Significance

• According to the Mayo Clinic, dementia is defined as memory loss accompanied with other issues like problems with judgment and difficulty with speaking. These symptoms stem from a disease or injury that changes the way the brain functions.

Identification

• Memory loss is the most common symptom of dementia. However, what memories are lost varies by person. People with dementia can forget people, places and even simple facts like where they put the keys. However, dementia is more than just memory loss. People with dementia also exhibit other symptoms such as communication problems, drastic changes in personality, strange and inappropriate behavior in public, trouble with coordination, agitation and in the most severe cases hallucinations and paranoia.

Types

• While Alzheimer's disease, an incurable illness that destroys brain cells is the most common cause of dementia, memory loss can be attributed to numerous other causes. While some types of dementia are irreversible, such as the kind caused by brain diseases and other diseases like AIDS and Huntington's disease, dementia caused by issues such as poisoning, immune deficiencies, reactions to medication, endocrine and hormonal problems and brain tumors can all be reversed if the underlying cause is treated. Recovery of memory depends on the extent of damage done to the brain.

Warning

• According to the Mayo Clinic, people with severe dementia will likely require around-the-clock care as their condition can be quite dangerous. People with dementia often stop eating and drinking, cannot take medication on their own, stop caring for personal hygiene and have trouble sleeping. People with dementia are also at a greater risk for hurting themselves since many have trouble walking or navigating stairs and other tricky places.

Prevention/Solution

• According to the Mayo Clinic, it is important to get care as soon as possible if a person is exhibiting signs of dementia. The earlier it is treated, the more effective the doctors will be at restoring lost memory. There are steps you can take to prevent dementia also. Keeping your mind active, your cholesterol level and blood pressure low and keeping yourself socially and physically active all cut down the risk of developing a condition that leads to dementia.