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Dementia
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Dementia is a clinical state characterized by loss of function in multiple cognitive domains. The most commonly used criteria for diagnoses of dementia is the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, American Psychiatric Association). Diagnostic features include : memory impairment and at least one of the following: aphasia, apraxia, agnosia, disturbances in executive functioning. In addition, the cognitive impairments must be severe enough to cause impairment in social and occupational functioning. Importantly, the decline must represent a decline from a previously higher level of functioning. Finally, the diagnosis of dementia should NOT be made if the cognitive deficits occur exclusively during the course of a delirium.
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Dementia is the loss of mental functions -- such as thinking, memory, and reasoning -- that is severe enough to interfere with a person's daily functioning. Dementia is not a disease itself, but rather a group of symptoms that are caused by various diseases or conditions. Symptoms can ... include changes in personality, mood, and behavior. In some cases, the dementia can be treated and cured because the cause is treatable. Examples of this include dementia caused by substance abuse (illicit drugs and alcohol), combinations of prescription medications, and hormone or vitamin imbalances. In some cases, although the person may appear to have dementia, a severe depression can be causing the symptoms.
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Dementia may occur in patients who have other disorders that primarily affect movement or other functions. These cases are often referred to as secondary dementias. The relationship between these disorders and the primary dementias is not always clear. For instance, people with advanced Parkinson's disease, which is primarily a movement disorder, sometimes develop symptoms of dementia. Many Parkinson's patients ... have amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles like those found in AD. The two diseases may be linked in a yet-unknown way, or they may simply coexist in some people.
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Dementia encompasses a group of neurodegenerative diseases that causes an acquired cognitive and behavioral impairment of sufficient severity to interfere significantly with social and occupational functioning. Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common of the diseases that cause dementia. At present, the disorder afflicts approximately 5 million people in the United States and more than 30 million people worldwide. A larger number of individuals have lesser levels of cognitive impairment, which frequently evolves into full-blown dementia. Prevalence of dementia is expected to nearly triple by 2050, since the disorder preferentially affects the elderly, who constitute the fastest-growing age bracket in many countries, especially in industrialized nations.
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Dementia pugilistica... called chronic traumatic encephalopathy or Boxer's syndrome, is caused by head trauma, such as that experienced by people who have been punched many times in the head during boxing. The most common symptoms of the condition are dementia and parkinsonism, which can appear many years after the trauma ends. Affected individuals may also develop poor coordination and slurred speech. A single traumatic brain injury may also lead to a disorder called post-traumatic dementia (PTD). PTD is much like dementia pugilistica but usually also includes long-term memory problems. Other symptoms vary depending on which part of the brain was damaged by the injury.
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Dementia may be diagnosed when a patient has two or more problems in brain function. Problems may involvelanguage, memory,perception, emotional behavior or personality, and cognitive skills (such as calculation, abstract thinking, or judgment). Dementia usually first appearsas forgetfulness. Other symptoms may only be seen during a medicalexam orwith cognitive tests.
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Dementia