|  | Conditions Treatments | Medical Conditions

Dementia-Related Diseases

Dementia is a general term for diseases that impact the memory or the quality of life associated with the brain. Dementia is typically caused by changes to the makeup of the brain. Everyone experiences memory loss as they grow older, but dementia is based on other medical factors and can manifest itself in a variety of different diseases, some of which turn their victims into shells of their former selves.

  1. Alzheimer's Disease

    • Perhaps the most well known of dementia-related diseases, Alzheimer's uses clumps of usually harmless protein and tangles of fibrous protein to damage the brain's neurons, eventually destroying brain cells. The disease eventually impacts the victim's memory and cognitive abilities. It is the most common cause of dementia in those 65 and older, according to mayoclinic.com, and it can take as long as seven to ten years for Alzheimer's to take its hold on its victim.

    Lewy Body Dementia

    • This type of dementia looks much like Alzheimer's, and is caused by similar proteins attacking the brain. But, unlike Alzheimer's, victims fluctuate between states of confusion and lucidity, experience hallucinations and must deal with Parkinson's Disease-like tremors. Victims will also thrash in their sleep as a result of abnormal rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep.

    Vascular Dementia

    • This type of dementia is usually caused by a change in the way the body delivers blood to the heart or brain, most likely a stroke. High-blood pressure is a contributing factor, as are heart attacks. The implications are varied. Some experience partial paralysis on one side of the body. Others experience memory loss, confusion and mood swings. The changes can be temporary or permanent, depending on the severity of the vascular episode.

    Frontotemporal Dementia

    • Doctors are unclear on the cause of this type of dementia, which appears to be related to the parts of the brain that control behavior, personality and language. A family history of dementia is not required to acquire this disease, and it can start manifesting as early as age 40. This dementia features such symptoms as inappropriate behavior, especially in public, loss of mental flexibility, speech problems and difficulty concentrating.

    Huntington's Disease

    • This form of dementia can start appearing in its victims as early as their 30s. It starts slowly and manifests itself innocuously, in ways such as irritability, anxiety and depression. With age, the disease worsens and so do the symptoms. Victims can have trouble walking and moving, can be quite clumsy and have physical weakness. It eventually develops into severe dementia.

    Other Dementias

    • There are many other forms of dementia, including dementia caused by head trauma (dementia pugilistica), complications from HIV and exposure to diseased brain tissue (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease).

Medical Conditions - Related Articles