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People generally feel forgetful as they get older. "Memory loss is not a normal process of aging, but it can often be seen as" dementia, "said Markus McGill in an article in Memory News Today. McGill adds, "Dementia is a generic term used to describe various symptoms of cognitive decline, such as oblivion." Dementia is often known to mean brain disease itself, but in reality it is close to describing degenerative diseases that weaken memory, thinking and communication.
Some of the symptoms of dementia are as follows. McGill explains that most of the patients can notice that they have dementia themselves, and there are some common symptoms that the family and caregivers can observe.
According to McGill, early signs of dementia include mood changes, indifference, confusion, changes in short-term memory, and loss of sense of direction.
The American Family Academy of Family Physicians explains that the most common symptom of dementia is the inability to remember what happened recently and that the patient has repeatedly asked the same question. Patients with dementia may have difficulty completing familiar tasks. Another symptom is communication problems, such as forgetting easy words or using them incorrectly. You may experience confusion by losing your familiar path.
It also experiences rapid changes in mood, personality changes, sensitivity and fear, and difficulty in abstract thinking. Patients with dementia may appear indifferent or apathetic to their surroundings.
Dementia is a comprehensive term, and there are several subtypes. Typical dementias include Alzheimer's disease. "Alzheimer's is characterized by plaques accumulating between dying brain cells," McGill explained. When Alzheimer's occurs, neuronal connections between brain tissue are weakened and brain size is reduced.
Another dementia, Parkinson's disease, is considered a movement disorder and is a neurodegenerative disease in which a toxic protein called Lewy bodies accumulates in brain cells. McGill adds, "Huntington's disease can also be classified as one of dementia."
Dementia is an important disease as well as treatment. The biggest cause of dementia is 'aging', but there are other factors that affect it. These include smoking and drinking, high levels of bad cholesterol, and diabetes. "But all cognitive disorders do not necessarily lead to dementia," McGill said.
