Dementia

Alzheimer's disease, the soft target of the euthanasia debate

(Medical Xpress)—The way Alzheimer's disease is portrayed by advocacy groups and the media is having undue influence on the euthanasia debate, according to a Deakin University nursing ethics professor.

Alzheimer's disease & dementia created May 24, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 2

Scientists discover cinnamon compounds' potential ability to prevent Alzheimer's

Cinnamon: Can the red-brown spice with the unmistakable fragrance and variety of uses offer an important benefit? The common baking spice might hold the key to delaying the onset of –– or warding off ...

Alzheimer's disease & dementia created May 23, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Multiple research teams unable to confirm high-profile Alzheimer's study

Teams of highly respected Alzheimer's researchers failed to replicate what appeared to be breakthrough results for the treatment of this brain disease when they were published last year in the journal Science.

Alzheimer's disease & dementia created May 23, 2013 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Adult day services for dementia patients provide stress relief to family caregivers

Family caregivers of older adults with dementia are less stressed and their moods are improved on days when dementia patients receive adult day services (ADS), according to Penn State researchers.

Health created May 23, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Major human drug trial underway for Alzheimer's

A potentially ground-breaking human drug trial is currently underway, which aims to discover whether blood pressure medication can slow or halt the progression of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). This is the latest ...

Alzheimer's disease & dementia created May 23, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

B vitamins could delay dementia

(Medical Xpress)—Despite spending billions of dollars on research and development, drug companies have been unable to come up with effective treatments for dementia and Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Now, A. ...

Neuroscience created May 21, 2013 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (18) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Waiting for a sign? Researchers find potential brain 'switch' for new behavior

You're standing near an airport luggage carousel and your bag emerges on the conveyor belt, prompting you to spring into action. How does your brain make the shift from passively waiting to taking action when ...

Neuroscience created May 21, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Mediterranean diet seems to boost ageing brain power

A Mediterranean diet with added extra virgin olive oil or mixed nuts seems to improve the brain power of older people better than advising them to follow a low-fat diet, indicates research published online in the Journal of ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 20, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 3

Scientists identify molecular trigger for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have pinpointed a catalytic trigger for the onset of Alzheimer's disease – when the fundamental structure of a protein molecule changes to cause a chain reaction that leads to the death of neurons ...

Alzheimer's disease & dementia created May 20, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers find far-reaching, microvascular damage in uninjured side of brain after stroke

While the effects of acute stroke have been widely studied, brain damage during the subacute phase of stroke has been a neglected area of research. Now, a new study by the University of South Florida reports that within a ...

Neuroscience created May 20, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Alzheimer's leaves bilingual victims stranded in Canada

The devastating effect of Alzheimer's disease on bilingual people has been thrown into focus in Canada, where the sudden loss of a second language can leave sufferers feeling like strangers in their own country.

Alzheimer's disease & dementia created May 19, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Deep brain stimulation: A fix when the drugs don't work

Neurological disorders can have a devastating impact on the lives of sufferers and their families.

Neuroscience created May 17, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Faulty energy production in brain cells leads to disorders ranging from Parkinson's to intellectual disability

Neuroscientist Patrik Verstreken of VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) and KU Leuven has shown for the first time that dysfunctional mitochondria in brain cells can lead to learning disabilities. The link between ...

Parkinson's & Movement disorders created May 17, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Nonmelanoma skin cancer tied to lower Alzheimer's risk

(HealthDay)—Older individuals with nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) seem to have a significantly reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to a study published online May 15 in Neurology.

Alzheimer's disease & dementia created May 16, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Promising treatment for progeria within reach

Pharmaceuticals that inhibit a specific enzyme may be useful in treating progeria, or accelerated aging in children. A new study performed at the Sahlgrenska Academy indicates that the development of progeria ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created May 16, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast


Dementia (taken from Latin, originally meaning "madness", from de- "without" + ment, the root of mens "mind") is a serious loss of global cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging. It may be static, the result of a unique global brain injury, or progressive, resulting in long-term decline due to damage or disease in the body. Although dementia is far more common in the geriatric population, it can occur before the age of 65, in which case it is termed "early onset dementia".

Dementia is not a single disease, but rather a non-specific illness syndrome (i.e., set of signs and symptoms) in which affected areas of cognition may be memory, attention, language, and problem solving. It is normally required to be present for at least 6 months to be diagnosed; cognitive dysfunction that has been seen only over shorter times, in particular less than weeks, must be termed delirium. In all types of general cognitive dysfunction, higher mental functions are affected first in the process.

Especially in the later stages of the condition, affected persons may be disoriented in time (not knowing what day of the week, day of the month, or even what year it is), in place (not knowing where they are), and in person (not knowing who they, or others around them, are). Dementia, though often treatable to some degree, is usually due to causes that are progressive and incurable.

Symptoms of dementia can be classified as either reversible or irreversible, depending upon the etiology of the disease. Less than 10% of cases of dementia are due to causes that may presently be reversed with treatment. Causes include many different specific disease processes, in the same way that symptoms of organ dysfunction such as shortness of breath, jaundice, or pain are attributable to many etiologies.

Without careful assessment of history, the short-term syndrome of delirium (often lasting days to weeks) can easily be confused with dementia, because they have all symptoms in common, save duration. Some mental illnesses, including depression and psychosis, may produce symptoms that must be differentiated from both delirium and dementia.

There are many specific types (causes) of dementia, often showing slightly different symptoms. However, the symptom overlap is such that it is impossible to diagnose the type of dementia by symptomatology alone, and in only a few cases are symptoms enough to give a high probability of some specific cause. Diagnosis is therefore aided by nuclear medicine brain scanning techniques. Certainty cannot be attained except with brain biopsy during life, or at necropsy in death.

Some of the most common forms of dementia are: Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, semantic dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. It is possible for a patient to exhibit two or more dementing processes at the same time, as none of the known types of dementia protects against the others.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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