I am thinking about basing my project around dementia & Alzheimers and raising awareness. I am considering working with this topic for 2 main reasons;
1 - I lost my Grandad to dementia at the beginning of last year, so have first hand experience of the disease/disorder myself, and it is very close to home for me.
2 - I work in a hospital and more often than not I work on elderly wards with patients suffering from dementia and Alzheimers so again, I have plenty of first hand experience.
WHAT IS DEMENTIA?
The word ‘dementia’ describes a set of symptoms that may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language. These changes are often small to start with, but for someone with dementia they have become severe enough to affect daily life. A person with dementia may also experience changes in their mood or behaviour.
Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease or a series of strokes. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, but not the only one. The specific symptoms that someone with dementia experiences will depend on the parts of the brain that are damaged and the disease that is causing the dementia. This factsheet explains what dementia is, including the causes and symptoms, and how it is diagnosed and treated. It also looks at some of the different types of dementia.
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SYMPTOMS
Each person is unique and will experience dementia in their own way. The different types of dementia also tend to affect people differently, especially in the early stages. Other factors that will affect how well someone can live with dementia include how other people respond to them and the environment around them.
A person with dementia will have cognitive symptoms (to do with thinking or memory). They will often have problems with some of the following:
- day-to-day memory – for example, difficulty recalling events that happened recently
- concentrating, planning or organising – for example, difficulties making decisions, solving problems or carrying out a sequence of tasks (such as cooking a meal)
- language – for example, difficulties following a conversation or finding the right word for something
- visuospatial skills – for example, problems judging distances (such as on stairs) and seeing objects in three dimensions
- orientation – for example, losing track of the day or date, or becoming confused about where they are.
A person with dementia will also often have changes in their mood. For example, they may become frustrated or irritable, apathetic or withdrawn, anxious, easily upset or unusually sad. With some types of dementia, the person may see things that are not really there (visual hallucinations) or strongly believe things that are not true (delusions).
Dementia is progressive, which means the symptoms gradually get worse over time. How quickly this happens varies greatly from person to person. As dementia progresses, the person may develop behaviours that seem unusual or out of character. These behaviours may include asking the same question over and over, pacing, restlessness or agitation. They can be distressing or challenging for the person and those close to them.
A person with dementia, especially in the later stages, may have physical symptoms such as muscle weakness or weight loss. Changes in sleep pattern and appetite are also common.
WHAT CAUSES DEMENTIA?
Each person is unique and will experience dementia in their own way. The different types of dementia also tend to affect people differently, especially in the early stages. Other factors that will affect how well someone can live with dementia include how other people respond to them and the environment around them.
A person with dementia will have cognitive symptoms (to do with thinking or memory). They will often have problems with some of the following:
- day-to-day memory – for example, difficulty recalling events that happened recently
- concentrating, planning or organising – for example, difficulties making decisions, solving problems or carrying out a sequence of tasks (such as cooking a meal)
- language – for example, difficulties following a conversation or finding the right word for something
- visuospatial skills – for example, problems judging distances (such as on stairs) and seeing objects in three dimensions
- orientation – for example, losing track of the day or date, or becoming confused about where they are.
A person with dementia will also often have changes in their mood. For example, they may become frustrated or irritable, apathetic or withdrawn, anxious, easily upset or unusually sad. With some types of dementia, the person may see things that are not really there (visual hallucinations) or strongly believe things that are not true (delusions).
Dementia is progressive, which means the symptoms gradually get worse over time. How quickly this happens varies greatly from person to person. As dementia progresses, the person may develop behaviours that seem unusual or out of character. These behaviours may include asking the same question over and over, pacing, restlessness or agitation. They can be distressing or challenging for the person and those close to them.
A person with dementia, especially in the later stages, may have physical symptoms such as muscle weakness or weight loss. Changes in sleep pattern and appetite are also common.
WHO GETS DEMENTIA?
There are currently around 850,000 people in the UK with dementia. It mainly affects people over the age of 65 (one in 14 people in this age group have dementia), and the likelihood of developing dementia increases significantly with age. However, dementia can affect younger people too. There are more than 42,000 people in the UK under 65 with dementia.
Scientists are investigating how dementia might run in the family. In a very small number of people, certain types of dementia are inherited as a single gene that directly causes the disease. People with one of these genes will usually get dementia before the age of 65. Everyone else will inherit a combination of genes that increases or decreases their risk of developing dementia in much less direct ways.
HOW IS IT TREATED?
The vast majority of causes of dementia cannot be cured, although research is continuing into developing drugs, vaccines and other medical treatments. There is a lot that can be done to enable someone with dementia to live well with the condition. Care and support should be ‘person-centred’. This means it should be focused on that person and their individual needs and preferences.
There are a range of non-drug treatments available that can help someone to live well with dementia. These include information, advice, support, therapies and activities. The GP, memory service or local Alzheimer’s Society are good places to start for more information on what is available.
There are drugs that can help with the symptoms of dementia , or that in some cases may stop them progressing for a while.
A person with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease or mixed dementia in which Alzheimer’s is the main cause may be prescribed one of three different drugs: donepezil, rivastigmine or galantamine. These may give temporary help with memory, motivation, concentration and daily living. In the moderate or severe stages of Alzheimer’s disease someone may be offered a different drug called memantine. This may help with attention and daily living, and possibly ease distressing or challenging behaviours.
Donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine can also be helpful for someone with dementia with Lewy bodies who has distressing hallucinations or delusions, or who has behaviours that challenge (for example, agitation or aggression).
For a person with vascular dementia, drugs will be offered to treat the underlying medical conditions that cause dementia. These conditions often include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes.
CAN IT BE PREVENTED?
It is not usually possible to say for sure why a particular person has developed dementia. Factors such as high blood pressure, lack of physical exercise and smoking – all of which lead to narrowing of the arteries – increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. There is evidence that a healthy lifestyle, especially in mid-life, can help reduce the risk of dementia. Regular physical exercise (for example, cycling, swimming, brisk walking), maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, and drinking alcohol only in moderation, if at all, are linked to a reduced risk of dementia.
A healthy balanced diet also helps to reduce a person’s risk. A balanced diet is one which is low in saturated fat, does not have too much salt, sugar or red meat, and includes plenty of fish, starchy foods, and fruit and vegetables. All these healthy lifestyle choices will also reduce the risk of other serious conditions such as stroke, heart disease and cancer.
A person who is already living with conditions such as diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure or high cholesterol should follow professional advice to keep their condition under control. Getting depression treated early is also important.
It also seems that keeping mentally and socially active into later life may help lower a person’s risk of dementia. Being mentally active could include doing puzzles or reading, or learning a new skill. Being socially active could include visiting friends or going to a place of worship. Volunteering could offer both mental and social activity and many organisations offer opportunities for people looking to donate their time or skills.
Above info sourced from www.alzheimers.org.uk
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