As the patient ages, late-stage dementia symptoms tend to worsen.

 STAGES OF DEMENTIA

Sometimes, dementia is roughly split into four stages:

Mild cognitive impairment : characterized by general forgetfulness. This affects many people as they age but it only progresses to dementia for some.

Mild dementia : People with mild dementia will experience cognitive impairments that occasionally impact their daily life. Symptoms include memory loss, confusion, personality changes, getting lost, and difficulty in planning and carrying out tasks.

Moderate dementia : Daily life becomes more challenging, and the individual may need more help. Symptoms are similar to mild dementia but increased. Individuals may need help getting dressed and combing their hair. They may also show significant changes in personality; for instance, becoming suspicious or agitated for no reason. There are also likely to be sleep disturbances.

Severe dementia : At this stage, symptoms have worsened considerably. There may be a loss of ability to communicate, and the individual might need full-time care. Simple tasks, such as sitting and holding one’s head up become impossible. Bladder control may be lost.

There are several types of dementia, including:

• Alzheimer’s disease-It is characterized by “plaques” between the dying cells in the brain and “tangles” within the cells (both are due to protein abnormalities). The brain tissue in a person with Alzheimer’s has progressively fewer nerve cells and connections.
• Dementia with Lewy bodies Is is a neurodegenerative condition linked to abnormal structures in the brain. The brain changes involve a protein called alpha-synuclein.
• Mixed dementia -It refers to a diagnosis of two or three types occurring together. For instance, a person may show both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia at the same time.
• Parkinson’s disease -In this there is presence of Lewy bodies. Although Parkinson’s is often considered a disorder of movement, it can also lead to dementia symptoms.
• Huntington’s disease -It is characterized by specific types of uncontrolled movements but also includes dementia.

Other disorders leading to symptoms of dementia include:

• Frontotemporal dementia- Also known as Pick’s disease.
• Normal pressure hydrocephalus- when excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain.
• Posterior cortical atrophy-Resembles changes seen in Alzheimer’s disease but in a different part of the brain.
• Down syndrome-Increases the likelihood of young-onset Alzheimer’s.

EARLY SIGN OF DEMENTIA

Early signs of dementia can include:

• Changes in short-term memory.
• Changes in mood.
• Trouble finding the right words.
• Apathy.
• Confusion.
• Being repetitive.
• Finds it hard to follow a storyline.
• Trouble completing everyday tasks.
• Poor sense of direction.
• Difficulty adapting to changes.

CAUSES OF DEMENTIA

Dementias can be caused by brain cell death, and neurodegenerative disease ie. progressive brain cell death that happens over time is associated with most dementias.

However it is not known if the dementia causes the brain cell death, or the brain cell death causes the dementia.

But, as well as progressive brain cell death, like that seen in Alzheimer’s disease, dementia can be caused by a head injury, a stroke, or a brain tumor, among other causes.

• Vascular dementia (also called multi-infarct dementia) – Resulting from brain cell death caused by conditions such as cerebrovascular disease, for example, stroke. This prevents normal blood flow, depriving brain cells of oxygen.
• Injury – Post-traumatic dementia is directly related to brain cell death caused by injury.

Some types of traumatic brain injury  particularly if repetitive, such as those received by sports players have been linked to certain dementias appearing later in life. Evidence is weak, however, that a single brain injury raises the likelihood of having a degenerative dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Dementia can also be caused by:

• Prion diseases – For instance, CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease).
• HIV infection – How the virus damages brain cells is not certain, but it is known to occur.
• Reversible factors – Some dementias can be treated by reversing the effects of underlying causes, including medication interactions, depression, vitamin deficiencies, and thyroid abnormalities.