Dementia and the Elderly

As we age we tend to lose some of our mental acuity. We sometimes struggle with retrieving the name of objects or people. This is a common thing, sometimes referred to as a “senior moment” and does not mean we have dementia. We are living much longer today and while most of us will live in relatively good health (provided we eat right and exercise) many of us will at some point show signs of dementia. And while dementia can be scary it does not necessarily mean Alzheimer’s disease.

Dementia is defined as the decline in mental ability severe enough to impair day to day living. Memory loss is an example of dementia which includes Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimers is defined as a chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and gets worse over time. However, there are many other kinds of dementia.

Dementia with Lewy Bodies – is a brain disease that causes progressive loss of memory and the ability to think and plan. It is associated with protein deposits called Lewy bodies in brain cells. The main symptoms of dementia with Lewy bodies include waffling between lucidity and confusion, getting lost, hallucinations and delusions, loss of the ability to recall long term memories and repeated falls.

Vascular Dementia – is usually the result of a series of strokes. A stroke occurs when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked, cutting off the blood supply to the brain. It is progressive and includes declines in memory and mental functions with each additional stroke. The specific symptoms a person has depend on which area of the brain the strokes have affected. Not all strokes cause symptoms.  Strokes are often associated with hardening of the arteries caused by high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes. A person can reduce the risk of future strokes and therefore the risk of vascular dementia by maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle along with medication if necessary.

Frontotemporal Dementia – happens when the the frontal and temporal lobes atrophy resulting in a changes in personality and behavior. It cannot be reversed though doctors may treat the behavioral problems with antidepressants and other medicines. People with frontotemporal dementia may show little concern for cleanliness, may perform the same routine over and over, show little concern for other people, expose themselves or say socially inappropriate things.

Aging does not mean that dementia is inevitable, though it is probable there might be some loss in mental acuity and sharpness if we live long enough. Medical advances are being made daily in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other dementia. We are learning that there are many things we can do to exercise our brain including eating healthy, exercising our body and exercising our brain by reading, solving puzzles and using sites like Luminosity.