Dementia is a decline in mental ability that usually progresses slowly, where there is a disturbance of memory, thought, judgment and ability to focus, and personality deterioration can occur. At a young age, dementia may occur suddenly if severe injury, disease or toxic substances (eg carbon monoxide) causing the destruction of brain cells. But dementia usually occurs slowly and attack aged over 60 years. But dementia is not part of the normal aging process.
Along with age, the changes in the brain can cause a loss of some memory (especially short-term memory) and a decrease in some learning abilities. These changes do not affect the normal function. Forgotten in the elderly bukn a sign of dementia or early-stage disease Alzameir. Dementia is a decline in mental abilities are more serious, that the longer
getting worse.
In normal aging , a person may forget the details of things but people with dementia may forget the whole event has just occurred .
Dementia is a condition of progressive collapse intellectual ability after reaching the highest growth and development (age 15 years) due to organic brain disorder, followed by the collapse of behavior and personality, manifested in the form of impaired cognitive functions such as memory, orientation, sense of heart and formation of the conceptual mind. Usually this condition is not reversible, otherwise progressive. Diagnosis is carried out by clinical examination, and imaging studies laboratorlum (imaging), is intended to look for treatable causes. Treatment is usually supportive only. Kolines feels inhibitor (cholinesterase inhibitors) may improve cognitive function for a while, and make some antipsychotics drugs are more effective than just with one drug alone. Dementia can occur at any age, but more on the elderly.
Most of them were treated in homes and occupy some 50% of the bed. Dementia can be defined as cognitive and memory disorders that can affect daily activities. People with dementia often show some disturbances and changes in daily behavior (behavioral symptoms) that interfere with (disruptive) or do not disturb (non-disruptive) (Voicer. L., Hurley, AC, Mahoney, E.1998). Grayson (2004) states that dementia is not just ordinary disease, but rather a collection of symptoms caused by multiple diseases or conditions resulting in changes in personality and behavior.
Dementia is an illness that involves the brain cells that die abnormally. Only the terminology used to describe progressive degenerative brain disease. This disease may be experienced by all people of various educational and cultural backgrounds. Although there is not yet any treatment for dementia care to deal with the symptoms may be obtained through. Dementia is a decline in mental ability that usually progresses slowly, where there is a disturbance of memory, thought, judgment and ability to focus, and personality deterioration can occur.
Clinical Manifestations of Dementia
- Decline in memory that continues to happen. In patients with dementia, "forget" become a part of daily life that can not be separated.
- Impaired orientation of time and place, for example : forget the day, week, month, year, where people with dementia are.
- The decline and inability to arrange words into correct sentences, using words that are not appropriate for a condition, repeat the word or the same story many times.
- Excessive expression, for example, excessive crying when she saw a television drama, furious at small mistakes committed by others, fear and nervousness unwarranted. People with dementia often do not understand why these feelings arise.
- The change of behavior, such as : indifferent, withdrawn and anxious.
- The whole range of cognitive function is damaged.
- Originally impaired short-term memory.
- Personality and behavioral disorders, mood swings.
- Motors and focal neurologic deficits.
- Irritability, hostility , agitation and seizures.
- Psychotic Disorders : hallucinations, illusions, delusions and paranoia.
- Agnosia, apraxia, aphasia.
- ADL ( Activities of Daily Living ) difficult.
- Regulate the use of financial difficulties.
- Not be able to go home when traveling.
- Forgot to put the important stuff.
- Difficult bathing, eating, dressing, toileting.
- Patients can walk away from the house and can not go home.
- Easy to fall, bad balance.
- Finally paralysis, incontinence of urine and bowel movements.
- Unable to eat and swallow.
- Coma and death.
Etiology of Dementia
The most frequent cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. The cause of Alzheimer's disease is unknown, but is thought to involve genetic factors, because the disease seems to be found in some families and are caused or influenced by some specific gene abnormality. In Alzheimer's disease, some parts of the brain decline, resulting in cell damage and reduced response to a chemical signal channel in the brain. Found in the brain of abnormal tissue (called senile plaques and tangled nerve fibers) and abnormal proteins, which can be seen at autopsy. Dementia Lewy figure closely resembles Alzheimer's disease, but have differences in the microscopic changes that occur in the brain. The second most common cause of dementia is a stroke that row. Single stroke is small and causes mild weakness or weaknesses that arise slowly. This small strokes gradually cause damage to brain tissue, brain regions that were damaged due to blockage of blood flow is called infarction. Dementia is derived from several small strokes called multi - infarct dementia. The majority of sufferers have high blood pressure or diabetes, both of which cause damage to blood vessels in the brain.
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