Cognitive Improvement in Early Dementia

If a loved one has been diagnosed with dementia or is showing signs of it, don't give up all hope. Although there is no cure for dementia, according to MedlinePlus, there are measures that can be taken to slow its progress and even improve cognitive function, particularly in the early stages of dementia. Such measures include medications that have been shown to sharpen intellectual skills and non-pharmacological therapies that achieve the same goal.

Identifying the Signs

• Dementia isn't really a disease in its own right but rather a collection of symptoms that represent serious dysfunction in intellectual and/or social skills, according to MayoClinic.com. Memory problems alone do not constitute dementia but must be accompanied by one or more other symptoms to qualify as dementia. FamilyDoctor.org suggests that you look for such other symptoms as language problems, difficulty performing routine tasks, faulty judgment, time/place disorientation, mood and personality changes, and a loss of initiative.

Non-Drug Therapies

• If your loved one's dementia is still in its early stages, such non-drug therapies as memory retraining and reality orientation may prove beneficial, according to Dr. Gary W. Small, the Parlow-Solomon professor on aging at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. Other psychosocial treatments that may prove helpful, according to Small, include "emotion-oriented psychotherapy, such as 'pleasant events' and 'reminiscence' therapy, and stimulation-oriented treatment, including art and other expressive recreational or social therapies, exercise and dance."

  Small emphasizes that some of these therapies are recommended only for patients who are in the very earliest stages of dementia. So unless your loved one's symptoms of dementia are very mild, it's probably best to avoid memory retraining sessions because, he points out, these can become very frustrating for both caregivers and patients. The same holds true, he says, for patient support groups, which can be helpful but only if the patient is mildly impaired.

Medications

• Although a number of medications have helped patients to improve cognitive function at least temporarily, make sure that such drugs are prescribed for and used by your loved one only under a doctor's supervision. The doctor can verify that any new medications prescribed will cause no unwanted interactions with other medications taken by the patient.

  Four drugs that were developed to improve cognitive function in Alzheimer's patients have also been shown to benefit other patients with dementia, according to MayoClinic.com. These include the cholinesterase inhibitors---donepezil, galantamine hydrobromide and rivastigmine---and memantine. The former work by increasing levels of a brain chemical involved in judgment and memory, while memantine regulates the activity of glutamate, another brain chemical. MayoClinic.com says that even better results have been obtained in some cases where memantine was prescribed in combination with one of the cholinesterase inhibitors.

  From the realm of alternative/complementary medicine, a couple of nutritional supplements appear to improve cognitive function, at least based on anecdotal reports. These are gingko biloba and chromium picolinate. Consult your doctor before using either.