Dementia

Dementia
Dementia
The word Dementia describes a set of symptoms that may include memory loss, and difficulties with thinking, problem solving or language.
Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease or a series of strokes.
Dementia is progressive, meaning that the symptoms will gradually get worse.
Dependent on which part of the brain is affected a person will present differently.
Area of the Brain Key Functions that could be affected
Frontal Lobe Movement, emotional behaviour, Personality, Interpretation and feelings.
Parietal Lobe Language, Spatial Awareness and Recognition.
Temporal Lobe Long term memory, Speech and Hearing
Occipital Lobe Vision
Cerebellum Balance, Posture, Muscle Coordination (Movement)
Hypothalamus Regulates Thirst, Appetite and Body Temperature, Sleep Cycles and Patterns Of sleep.
Thalamus Muscle Movement, and Processing Sensory Information.
Hippocampus Processes Recent Memories into Stored Memory
Limbic System Emotions and Smell.

Depression, Delirium and age-related memory impairment can all be mistake for Dementia, as any or all can be present in a person suffering from Dementia. If a person start to display signs of cognitive impairment it is important not to assume it is Dementia, as there are other conditions that have similar symptoms to those of Dementia. A GP should be consulted to assess the person.

Medical Model of Dementia
The Medical Model related to clinical approach how the changes occur with the brain and managing the condition with medication.
Social Model of Dementia
Social Model is more about the person and how it affect them. The Social Model of care seeks to understand the behaviours and emotions of the person with Dementia, by learning about the person, as an individual, their history and background. Care and support can be provided to be more appropriate to individual needs.
View Dementia as a Disability
Dementia affect the brain, which is the coordinator and controller of all activities in the human body. The disease will lead to memory loss, confusion and problems with speech and understanding.
By recognising Dementia as a disability Health and Social Care Workers will have resources to enable them to adapt the person’s environment. It will help protect the elderly from being forced into nursing homes by relatives for dishonest reasons.
Just as someone with a physical disability we alter their environment, such as providing ramps or a lift to enable the person to function in a ‘normal’ way. By seeing Dementia similar, we will adapt their environment and provision of care to suit their needs and not change them, or their behaviour to suit the setting by insisting they are admitted to a care home etc.

Causes of Dementia
Dementia is caused by damage to the brain.
The most common cause of Dementia are called Neurodegenerative Diseases such as:-
Alzheimer’s Disease
Front temporal Disease
Dementia with Lewy Bodies
With the diseases the brain cells degenerate and die more quickly, than which is part of the normal aging process. It will lead to a decline in a person’s mental and sometimes physical state.

Alzheimer’s
This is the most common form of Dementia. It is the loss of brain cells which cause the brain to shrink. It will affect mainly the Cerebral Cortex which in will affect thought processing and many of the complex functions of our brain, such as storing and retrieving memories, calculation, spelling, planning and organising.
Vascular Dementia
This is cause by the interruption of the blood supply to the brain. It will prevent the brain from receiving the right amount of oxygen and nutrients it needs, resulting in the death of brain cells.
Dementia with Lewy Bodies
These small circular lumps of protein develop inside the brain cells. The cause is not known but it is thought that these interfere with the effects of two of the messenger chemicals in the brain – Dopamine and Acetylcholine. Both of these are thought to play an important role in regulating brain functions such as memory, learning, mood and attention.
Risk Factors for cause of Dementia
Cardiovascular Risk Factors
Brain infarcts, heart disease and mid-life hypertension increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and Vascular Dementia, smoking has also been identified.
Diabetes
Have diabetes increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by 65%.
High Cholesterol
As Cholesterol is important to brain function, it is part of the cell wall, it helps repair and establish new connections between nerve cells but high cholesterol in mid and late-life can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s.
Family History
A family history of Dementia increases one’s risk of developing Dementia which is probably due to genetic factors that have not yet been discovered.
Head Injury
Moderate to severe head injury increases the brain to shrink. It will affect mainly the Cerebral Cortex which in turn will affect thought processing and many of the complex functions of our brain, such as storing and retrieving memories, calculation, spelling and planning and organising.

Vascular Dementia
This is cause by the interruption of the blood supply to the brain. It will prevent the brain from receiving the right amount of oxygen and nutrients it needs, resulting in the death of brain cells.
Dementia Ability and Disability
Depending on the form of dementia people's ability and disability will be different. People with dementia may not necessarily always be forgetful, for example an individual with Front-temporal dementia may be less forgetful than a person suffering from Alzheimer disease. Their memory may remain intact but their personality and behaviour could be noticeably changed.
Dementia with Lewy bodies interrupts the brain's normal functioning and affect the person's memory, concentration and speech skills. It has similar symptoms to Parkinson's disease such as tremors, slowness of movement and speech difficulties. People with vascular dementia may suffer from incontinence disability may vary and the level of support they require will be varied as or seizures where as other types of dementia may not have those symptoms.
However the level of ability and disability depend on individual's age and condition of dementia, people who are living with dementia in earlier age such as 60's-70's are less likely to be as dependable on others than people living with dementia at the age of over their 70's or 80's. People also have different levels of stamina at different ages, so their ability and well.

There is little awareness or understanding of the needs of people who develop dementia at an early age, and this can make it very difficult for younger people to access adequate support.

There are sometimes significant age-related barriers for younger people trying to get access to dementia services. If no specialist services exist, younger people with dementia can find themselves lost between services, none of which will accept responsibility for their care.

Even if dementia services accept younger users, the type of care they provide may not be appropriate. The needs of younger people with dementia and their friends and family are not just related to age. Younger people may have different concerns and interests to older people. A service set up for people of a different generation, where activities are planned for older people who are less physical, is unlikely to meet the needs of younger people. Younger people with dementia require specialist services that are able to meet their complex needs. Specialist services should strive to help people maintain their day-to-day skills, friendships, hobbies and interests, and support people to continue to live an active life as a member of the local community.

The Impact, attitudes and behaviours of others towards dementia suffers
Public awareness about dementia, its symptoms, the importance of getting a diagnosis and the help that is available for those with the condition is limited. An Alzheimer's Society survey found that half of all UK adults believe dementia remains a condition plagued by stigma.
There is a widespread lack of awareness of dementia, its symptoms, its scale and its impact on families. There are also a number of misunderstandings about dementia - which it is a natural part of ageing, that it only affects older people and that nothing can be done to help people live well with it. This lack of understanding and awareness results in fear and, ultimately, the lasting consequence is stigma. This means that while in principle people are sympathetic to others living with dementia, the usual behavior when confronted with someone with dementia is avoidance. People with dementia and carers often refer to the stigmatizing effects of diagnosis, the attitudes they encounter towards dementia and the profound effect this has upon them and their families, resulting in them becoming socially isolated.
The fear and stigma that surrounds dementia can also deter people from talking to their GP about symptoms or to try to cover up their symptoms. Sometimes close family members may also try to cover up the fact that the person with dementia is experiencing problems.