Dementia
Causes, Symptoms, Types and Treatment.
Keywords:
dementia, dementia causes, dementia types, dementia treatment, Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, memory loss, cognitive decline, neurocognitive disorder, mild cognitive impairment, cognitive assessment, dementia prevention, healthy ageingAbstract
Globally, approximately 50 million people are affected by dementia. Women are affected by this disease in greater numbers than men. This number is projected to triple by 2050. Dementia is a disease that affects the brain of older people. The brain contains millions of neurons. Messages are transmitted between neurons through neurotransmitters. The neurotransmitter acetylcholine plays a significant role in memory. In people with dementia, the number of neurons gradually decreases over time. This leads to a decrease in the level of acetylcholine in the brain, resulting in a decline in various functions, including memory, over time. Due to the progressive loss of neurons in the brain, dementia causes a decline in memory, speech, the ability to recognize objects, and motor skills. Furthermore, these impairments become increasingly severe over time. As a result, individuals affected by dementia become dependent on others. This article discusses in detail the functional decline in dementia patients in various cognitive domains and how it presents in real-life scenarios. It also briefly discusses psychopathology, the types, the assessment and the management of dementia.
