Alzheimer ' s Disease and Dementia Essay

Level 3 Diploma Health and Social Care Learner Name:

Unit Title: 365- Understand the process and experience of dementia.
Learner statement
Assessor Use Only- Assessment Criteria Met
Learner to provide narrative under each statement of how they meet the criteria. You must provide answers to each question that allow your assessor to properly assess what work duties you are doing or what role you have within your work. It expected that you will need approximately 300 words per question. The more detail you provide the less likely your account will be sent back for more clarification.

You must answer each question in your own words and written in the first person meaning “I do this”. A tip is always to keep in mind the “who, why, how, where and when” in each answer.

Learning Outcome 1-Understand the neurology of dementia
1.1 Describe a range of causes of dementia syndrome

The word ‘dementia’ is a term which describes a serious deterioration in mental functions, such as memory, language, orientation and judgement. However, the causes are still not yet fully understood. Research in this area is ongoing and to date a number of types of dementia and their causes have been identified.

Types and causes of dementia

Alzheimer’s disease: Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. It is responsible for approximately two-thirds of dementia in older people. Alzheimer’s is caused by nerve cells dying in certain areas of the brain. In addition to this, the connections between affected nerve cells deteriorate. As the disease progresses, it spreads and affects cells in other parts of the brain. The cause of the brain cells dying and the deterioration of the connectors is not fully known.

Vascular dementia:- Vascular dementia is a form of dementia caused by damage to the brain through deprivation of oxygenated blood. Oxygenated blood is carried around your body and brain through arteries. Deoxygenated blood is carried through your body in veins. It is these arteries and veins that make up part of your vascular system. When an organ in your body is deprived of blood, that organ (or part of it) will die. This is what happens to the brain in vascular dementia. The conditions which can cause these problems are preventable and include high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes and high cholesterol. When supporting people into leading a healthy lifestyle, it is important to bear this condition in mind, in the hopes of preventing the onset of vascular dementia.

Dementia and learning disabilities
Some people with learning disabilities are at risk of developing dementia in adult life. People with Down’s syndrome are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The risk of Alzheimer’s increases as the person gets older. It is estimated that over half of the people with Down’s syndrome will develop Alzheimer’s disease when they are in their 60s.

Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB):- Lewy Bodies are tiny protein deposits which are found inside the nerve cells of the brain. These deposits alter the way the brain functions and can be found in people with either dementia or Parkinson’s disease. Approximately four per cent of the older population who have dementia are affected by DLB. This form of dementia has characteristics of both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

1.2 Describe the types of memory impairment commonly experienced by individuals with dementia

. A person’s brain is extremely complex and can store, retain and recall many, many pieces of information for many, many years. The ease with which the person can remember information will vary depending on the subject, the person and their state of mind. Memory loss can be defined in different ways depending on the situation it is being used for and the type of memory which is lost. Memory loss can be the inability to retrieve information from the long-term memory. This type of memory loss usually happens when the person is distracted or is not fully concentrating

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