Dementia Symptoms, Types and Treatment

Dementia is not a single disease, it is an umbrella term for disorders that occur due to diseases or trauma to the brain. The abnormal brain changes that occur are far from normal aging changes. These changes cause a decline in thinking skills,  impaired intellectual functions. They also affect behavior, feelings, and relationships.

Symptoms of Dementia 

• Memory loss: A very short-term memory, forgetting to pay bills, forgetting important appointments.
• Poor Judgement: Failing to take care of pets, victim to money scams, trouble solving problems.
• Faulty reasoning: Trouble working with numbers, unable to perform daily tasks.
• Loss of communication skill: Unable to find the right words, unable to explain themselves.
• Balance problems: Unable to walk straight, falling, and dis-balancing accidents.
• Inappropriate behavior: Sexual comments or action.
• Personality change: Sleep problems, hallucinations, depression, agitation.

Types of Dementia

For an optimized treatment, it is necessary to pinpoint the exact disorder causing the above symptoms.

Alzheimer’s disease: This is the most common form of dementia. It can cause memory loss to the point it disrupts one’s daily life.

Vascular Dementia: It happens because of strokes and changes in blood supply in the brain.

Mixed Dementia: This is when Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia happen together.

There are many less common types of dementia such as Pick’s Disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Parkinson’s Disease Dementia, and Lewy Body Dementia.

Preventing Dementia

Although there are no cures for dementia, one can prevent or slow its progress. Below mentioned are some methods:

1. Regular Exercise: Aim to get at least 30 minutes exercise routine for most days of the week.
2. Healthy Diet: Having a nutrition-rich meal along with a brain-healthy diet will help keep the blood flowing in the brain, keeping the communication going.
3. Social Engagement: The more one talks to people face-to-face, the more their brain will have strong memory and cognition.
4. Sleep: getting quality sleep will help flush out toxins from the brain.
5. Stress Management: Stress can take a toll on the brain, damage the nerves in the brain, worsening dementia.
6. Vascular Health: It is necessary to control your blood pressure, monitor your cholesterol levels to have a positive effect on both your heart and brain health.