Manifestations of Dementia Melinda Godfrey GNUR543 St. John Fisher College Mrs. Yowell is a 90-year-old woman who is a resident of a long-term care facility. She was alert and mentally quite capable until about a year ago when she began to manifest signs and symptoms of dementia. A review of her medical records failed to document a thorough analysis of her dementia, but a diagnosis of “probable Alzheimer disease” was recorded. What are the common manifestations of dementia? The definition of Dementia is “a general term for loss of memory and other mental abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life. It is caused by physical changes in the brain.” (Common Types of Dementia, 2012). The first manifestations of Dementia …show more content…
Generally the patient will have trouble with speech and behavior. 4. Vascular Dementia – This form of dementia results from many strokes. When a patient has a stroke, the blood flow is interrupted to the brain and the result is brain tissue damage (Types of Dementia, 2011). These patients normally lose their cognitive ability before their memory. 5. Parkinson Disease with Dementia – Approximately 40% of patients with Parkinson’s disease will have dementia (Parkinson’s disease, 2011). The nerve cells in the brain that make dopamine are slowly destroyed leaving no way for the brain to send messages. What other potentially treatable factors might have led to Mrs. Yowell’s deteriorating mental function? There are many reasons that Mrs. Yowell may have impaired mental functioning (see Table 1). The first and easiest reason to rule out would be a urinary tract infection (UTI). A urine sample can show if there are white blood cells (indicating infection) present in the urine. The increased levels of bacteria in an elderly person’s body can cause toxicity which leads to the altered mental status (Midthun, 2004). Most noted changes are confusion, agitation and lethargy. Table 1 | | (Shadlen & Larson, 2012) | Secondly, Mrs. Yowell could have vitamin deficiencies. For example, if a patient has low levels of thiamine they can
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A proper diagnosis of dementia is essential, in order to rule out other conditions that may have symptoms similar to dementia and that may be treatable, including depression, chest and urinary infections, severe constipation and brain tumours . Also to rule out other possible causes of confusion, such as poor sight or hearing; emotional changes and upsets, such as moving or bereavement; or the side-effects of certain drugs or combinations of drugs. Folllow up diagnosis can enable a patient to access advice, information and support
Vascular dementia is the first form of dementia, which is caused by damage to the brain through deprivation of oxygenated blood. If areas of the brain are not getting oxygen then part of it will die causing the vascular dementia.
a) Depression- individuals with severe depression suffer with poor memories and lack concentration. They will also become less motivated and become withdraw. These are all signs of dementia. A general practitioner may think that it is more likely that an elderly person is suffering from dementia than depression.
The person may become confused when handling money and undergo personality changes, appearing to no longer care about those around them. Swings are common and the person may become tearful for no apparent reason, or become convinced that someone is trying to harm them.In advanced cases people may also adopt unsettling behaviour like getting up in the middle of the night or wander off and become lost. Some people lose their inhibitions and sense of what is acceptable behaviour, undress in public or make inappropriate sexual advances. The person may become incontinent, have difficulty eating and drinking and may become completely dependent on others.2. Symptoms usually develop suddenly and progress in a step like way where a sudden worsening is followed by a period of stabilisation. Common symptoms include poor concentration and difficulties with communication. memory loss may also lead to confusion.As vascular dementia does not affect all of the brain, the individual may be able to retain more of their abilities and memory loss may not appear until later in the progression of the disease. This means that the individual may be more aware of their deteriorating health and may therefore be more at risk of depression.3. Dementia with Lewy Bodies is a
The types of memory impairment commonly experienced by individuals with dementia can include a decline in memory, reasoning and communication; changes in behaviour; loss of skills; abilities which fluctuate; movement difficulties and many more.
Dementia is an acquired syndrome resulting from brain damage or disease. Two types of dementia are primary and secondary dementia. Primary dementias are disorders in which the dementia alone is the major sign of a biological brain disease, for example Alzheimer’s disease. Secondary dementias result from some other recognizable disease, such as multiple sclerosis. In having dementia, memory domains, and possibly language, judgement, abstract thinking, and/or executive thinking deteriorate progressively in severity until death. This differentiates dementia from other cognitive disorders such as delirium, age-related memory decline, or toxicity, all of which are temporary, treatable, or reversible. (Dementia: Overview, 2015).
Vascular Dementia can occur after a person has a stroke due to major blood vessels being blocked.
Vascular dementia is the decrease of oxygen supply to the brain on account of a narrowing or blockage of a blood vessel, damaging and killing a percentage of the mind cells. The side effects can happen after one large stroke, or after some time with numerous little strokes. Indications of vascular dementia shift and may cover with those of Alzheimer's disease. Numerous individuals experience difficulty critical thinking or planning, thinking quickly and focusing. Likewise, they may likewise have brief periods when they get extremely confused (What is dementia).
Dementia is characterized as a condition where the mental processes of cognition and memory start to deteriorate. It is described as a syndrome that hinders the daily lives of those who have it and is characterized by memory and thinking impairment. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s Disease and the second most common is vascular dementia. Dementia is a syndrome occurring usually, but not limited, to people over the age of 40 and is due to brain damage caused by natural deteriorating, stroke or can be brought on by factors such as excessive drinking or drug abuse. Dementia is best cared for in its early stages and, therefore, an early diagnosis is essential. Recognizing the symptoms by both the dementia patient and the
Dementia is a syndrome that affects memory and other cognitive functions to the extent that interferes with daily function. There are many conditions that can cause dementia, including neurodegenerative disorders (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease), cerebrovascular disease, brain injury, alcohol abuse, metabolic disorders (e.g. B12 deficiency), and certain infections(e.g. HIV).
Dementia is not a specific disease, it is the term that describes a group of symptoms. It is the decline in memory, other thinking and social skills, which is severe enough to reduce a person's ability to perform their everyday activities (Dementia 2018). Daily activities such as use of language for communication, the ability to focus and pay attention to their environment, their reasoning and judgmental skills. Dementia is mostly common among older adults, age 65 is a good age for people to start experiencing dementia. This doesn’t mean dementia should occur in all older adults because there is a saying that says older people tend to forget things a lot. That is natural, because even younger people still tend to forget things, it
Dementia is a general term that is used to describe a disease or disorder that affects brain functioning by a decline in metal ability that can progress enough to interfere with daily life. There are different forms of dementia, such as Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, Vascular, and Frontotemporal, but the number one type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, one in nine Americans older than the age of 65 currently have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible neurodegenerative brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills.
VD is the second most common type of dementia; consisting of 10 to 30 percent and it is due to dead nerve cells in infected vessels. This is often caused by transient ischemic attacks (Miller, 2009). The two widely known forms of vascular dementia is Multi-infarct dementia (MD) and Binswanger’s disease (BD) also known as sub cortical vascular dementia. MD is a result of Transient Ischaemic Attacks (TIA) that harms the cortex of the brain which is involved with memory. BD is related to stroke and high blood pressure and affects the “white matter” in the brain causing movement difficulties and emotional imbalances (Alzheimer’s Association, 2011). Late adulthood, diabetes mellitus, recurrent strokes and low education are common risk factors of VD however there are preventive measures like smoking, diabetes and sedentary lifestyle (Miller, 2009).
Dementia is a progressive process, with the symptoms and decline in function often worsening, sometimes rapidly, overtime. Although the elderly population are most frequently affected, many younger patients can also be affected. Currently, no cure, be it medical or behavioural, has been isolated, however certain treatments have proved beneficial in delaying the onset or staying off further rapid deterioration. In addition to pharmaceutical treatment modalities, other support and managerial techniques may enable n enhanced quality of life.