Causes Of Dementia

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Imagine waking up one day not knowing any of your family. Well this scary dream becomes a reality for some people. Alzheimer is a progressive mental deterioration that can occur in middle or old age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain, it is the most common cause of premature senility. This topic is very important because, 5.1 million people age 65 and older were affected by this disease in 2015. There is an article on Galileo that is helpful and has so much detailed information about this terrible disease.
Dementia is a persistent or chronic disorder of the mental processes that are caused by brain disease or injury. Dementia is marked by personality changes, memory disorders, and impaired reasoning. The most common form of dementia …show more content…
Some early signs of AD might include a decline in non-memory aspects of cognition. These might include word finding, vision issues, and impaired reasoning or judgement. As the disease progresses people experience greater memory loss and cognitive difficulties. People also begin to wander off, have trouble paying bills, repeating questions, and you may notice their personality and behavior changing. In the next stage their memory loss and confusion is greater. They may not be able to learn new things or do even simple things like getting dressed. They can also begin to have hallucination, delusions and paranoia. The final stages of this disease is where the person can no longer communicate and they are totally dependent on others. Near the end of the disease they will be in bed most of the time and their body will begin shutting …show more content…
For some people in the early and middle stages of the disease, they may be able to get some help from medicine. Drugs like tacrine (Cognex), donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), or galantamine (Reminyl) may help prevent some symptoms from becoming worse for a limited time. Another drug, memantine (Namenda), has been approved for treatment of moderate to severe AD These drugs work by regulating neurotransmitters, the chemicals that transmit messages between neurons. Also, some medicines may help control behavioral symptoms of AD such as sleeplessness, agitation, wandering, anxiety, and depression. Treating these symptoms often makes patients more comfortable and makes their care easier for caregivers. Developing new treatments for AD is an active area of research. Scientists are testing a number of drugs to see if they prevent AD, slow the disease, or help reduce symptoms. AD is a very slow disease starting with mild memory problems and ending with severe brain damage. On average, AD patients live from 8 to 10 years after they are diagnosed, though the disease can last for as many as 20 years. Research shows that vitamin E slows the progress of some consequences of AD by about 7 months. Scientists are also studying vitamin E to learn whether it can prevent or delay AD in patients with MCI. Ginkgo biloba is an herbal preparation made from the pulverized leaves of the ginkgo tree. Scientist are trying to find out whether ginkgo biloba can delay
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