What Is Dementia?

Dementia is a condition comprised of multiple cognitive impairments caused by brain cells that were damaged as a result of a physical medical condition. The elderly are most vulnerable to developing dementia and it is the most common cause of Alzheimer's disease. Other causes include head injury, stroke or brain tumor. Unfortunately, it is typically a permanent, non-reversible state, and significantly interferes with a person's day to day functioning.

Identification

• Memory impairment is the most essential feature of dementia. Dementia can cause individuals to have difficulty remembering new information. It may also impair an individual's ability to recall previously learned material. Generally, individuals with dementia suffer from both of these. During the early stages of dementia, forgetfulness and misplacing items are common. Later stages of dementia can be identified when an individual is unable to recognize his family or himself.

Features

• To be classified as dementia, memory impairment must be accompanied by at least one of the following deficits: aphasia, apraxia, agnosia, or a disturbance in executive functioning. Aphasia is the deterioration of language causing an inability to verbally identify people or objects. Apraxia is impairment of motor functions such writing, cooking, cleaning or dressing. Agnosia is the inability to recognize people or objects visually. Executive functioning is the ability to think ahead or plan a sequence of events, then initiating the planned event. The inability to think abstractly is common in people with dementia.

Considerations

• The cognitive impairments associated with dementia must represent a decline from prior functioning. Therefore, diagnosing dementia in children and adolescents is uncommon since deficits may just be a delay in development. As such, dementia is often diagnosed later in life when a person reaches her mid-80s. The prevalence of dementia increases with age. A gradual onset of dementia, followed by a distinct decline in cognitive functioning, is symptomatic of Alzheimer's.

Prevention/Solution

• Engaging in mentally stimulating activities can help ward off dementia. Reading, playing board games or doing puzzles keeps the mind active. Remember, the mind is a muscle and if you don't use it, you may lose it. Challenging your brain can cause new brain cells to grow or new connections to be made in your brain. Exercise is also effective as it involves coordinating different parts of the body with the mind.

Significance

• The effects of dementia can be devastating to an individual as well as loved ones. Caring for an individual with dementia can be time consuming depending on the extent of the individual's impairment. Feeding and dressing someone with dementia can be depressing and stressful. It is also disheartening to watch a loved one suffer, especially when that person no longer recognizes you. Helping someone who has no chance of recovery can be difficult to accept as well, especially when your help is rebuffed or unappreciated.