Dementia A Gradual Death

Dementia: A Gradual Death

Dementia: A Gradual Death

Introduction

“Dementia" is the generic term for diseases in which memory problems are associated with the failure of other mental functions as to make the person dependent. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia; vascular dementia is also a common form of dementia. The age is the greatest risk of contracting the disease.

Dementia is a condition that affects 1 to 5 percent of the population over 65 years of age, with a prevalence that doubles every four years later, reaching a percentage up to 30 percent at age 80. Dementia generally means a chronic and progressive condition of dysfunction of brain that leads to cognitive decline of the person. (Gaines, 2004).

It has been estimated that over 50% of the population in United States of America is prone to this disease. The terrible thing with this disease is its prolongued effects that worsen as time passes.

Discussion

Causes of Dementia

There are several reasons that can result in dementia. It is not casued by the same disease, neither is it certain that a particular disease will always cause demantia. In fact, some dementias such as Alzheimer's disease occur on their own. There is a lot to be learned about the casues of dementia.

Sometimes the symptoms of dementia are caused by diseases that are treatable. These include thyroid disorders, tablets intolerance, dehydration and mental illness especially depression.

Dementias are classified on the basis of the way they affect the brain or there worsening with time.

Progressive dementias are the ones that wrosen with time. Their casues include Alzheimer's disease, which is caused by the destruction of brains cells; Lewy body dementia caused by abnormal protein clumping in the brain; vascular demetia related to cardiac areas; and Frontotemporal dementia, which is caused by the degenration of nerve cells.

Other factors that cause Dementia include infectious and immune disorder, which might result from fever or incapabilities to fight infection; metabolic or endocrine abnormalitites; deficiency of proper nutritional diet; reaction to medicines; poisoning from pesticides or other durgs; brain tumors; and problems associated with heart and lungs. (Gaines, 2004).

Affects on a Family

Receiving a diagnosis of dementia may result in an extremely distressing scenario for the family and the patient himself.

It is not easy for a family to accept the fact that a person, so far, so different from what he meant in their lives, has now been changed due to demetia and its effects. It may not be easy to understand the new language, new gestures, new needs or requests that your family is at this stage of their lives. (Markova, 2000)

Family members often feel powerless and frustrated by the inability to handle the situation as it tries to respond to the difficulties of dealing with a reassurance, not fully understand what is happening, to define a new world to interpret and understand. (Boston, 2000)

The effect of aging may have on the brain, and its physiological consequences, cause a significant change in the behaviour of the person so as to modify the ...