What exactly is dementia

What exactly is dementia? 

Dementia is not one disease as such, it is a term that covers a range of symptoms that cause a decline in brain function. They have such an impact as to seriously impact a person’s ability to carry out everyday tasks. So when you hear the word dementia, it actually acts as an umbrella term under which various diseases fall. 

Symptoms

Dementia eventually involves the loss of intellectual ability, such as cognitive functions which govern the way we approach tasks. Others symptoms include damage of the temporal lobe, which is responsible for memories and why this is one of the biggest warning signs (although as we cover in another article, this does not necessarily mean it is dementia). Damage to part of the brain’s frontal lobe, through deterioration of the brain matter, can lead to problems in speech. Elsewhere damage within the cerebrum can lead to impairment in the interpretation of touch, vision and hearing. 

The initial symptoms of dementia may be quite subtle, but left untreated some diseases within the dementia family can progress quite quickly. Changes in behaviour may occur and the person you once knew, may change significantly. For the patient, it can be rather frightening at times, especially when short term memory loss is involved, the cruel realities of the disease mean that the patient doesn’t know what is happening, they may not recognise their own reflection and the world they once knew, becomes a distant and frightening reality. 

The rate at which a dementia patient may decline depends on the type of dementia that they have, as well as medications and therapies that they may have access to aid with their treatment.

Research is constantly underway to improve life with a dementia disease and ways in which to avoid or reduce the impact on the brain. There are also many alternative therapies which have been shown to benefit the patient. One example is music therapy, from music that the patient listens to, to making music. For more on this, read our article here.

Medical trials

Depending on your general physical health, your age and other factors, you may be able to gain access to a medical trial. Medical trials are when drugs or other therapies are tested within control groups of people to demonstrate their effectiveness. If you are interested, you should discuss this with your doctor or specialist. You can also find out information about a trial and take this to your doctor to discuss suitability and how you can be considered for a medical trial. 

What should I do

If you suspect that someone may have dementia, or are concerned about yourself, as frightening as it may be, you should aim to get a formal diagnosis. There are treatments and medications which can aid some of the symptoms associated with the diseases. It is possible that if the diseases are caught early enough through a range of lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, sleep) medications and therapies, the symptoms can be reduced and severity of the disease managed. Caught early enough, gives you the opportunity to enjoy time together, or as a family and to get treatments in place to support the dementia patient as the disease progresses. It also gives you time to understand what you are dealing with, what changes you may need to consider for lifestyle our to the house and how you can support the patient.

I’d like to know more

We have a number of articles to support you with information about what to expect before a diagnosis, other illnesses that can mimic the signs of dementia and the tests that are carried out to diagnose dementia. Review our selection of articles on our Knowledge Base.