A Worn Path: Dementia Essay

Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. It affects memory, thinking, language, judgment, and behavior. This disease usually affects the old generation. As the human body ages, some aspects of life may not be as easy as they were before. In this paper, I will talk about the causes, symptoms, medications, diagnosis, complications, and preventions of Dementia. The causes of Dementia can be heightened. Most types of dementia are nonreversible. Nonreversible means the changes in the brain that are causing the dementia cannot be stopped or turned back. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. Lewy body disease is a leading cause of dementia in elderly adults. People with this condition have abnormal protein structures in certain areas of the brain. Dementia also can be due to many small strokes. This is called vascular dementia. Some other medical conditions that can lead to Dementia are Huntingson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease. Some causes of dementia may be stopped or reversed if they are found soon enough. Some more causes are brain injury, brain tumor, chronic alcohol abuse, changes in sodium and calcium levels. Dementia usually occurs in older age. It is rare in people under age 60. The risk for dementia increases as a person gets older. Dementia symptoms include difficulty with many areas of mental function. Some symptoms are language, memory, perception, emotional behavior or personality, and cognitive skills such as such as critical thinking, calculation, and judgment. Dementia usually first appears as forgetfulness. Mild cognitive impairment is the stage between normal forgetfulness due to aging and the development of dementia. People with MCI have mild problems with thinking and memory that do not interfere with everyday activities. They are often aware of the forgetfulness. Not everyone with MCI develops dementia. Some symptoms of MCI are: Difficulty performing more than one task at a time, difficulty solving problems or making decisions, forgetting recent events or conversations, taking longer to perform more difficult mental activities. The early symptoms of dementia can include: Difficulty performing tasks that take some thought, but that used to come easily, such as balancing a checkbook, playing games, and learning new information or routines. Getting lost on familiar routes can also be an early sign of Dementia. Language problems, such as trouble finding the name of familiar objects, losing interest in things you previously enjoyed, flat mood, misplacing items, and personality changes and loss of social skills, which can lead to inappropriate behaviors.