Dementia

Dementia

Alzheimer's has been chillingly described as an affliction whose victims suffer the loss of qualities that define human existence. From near obscurity only a generation ago, Alzheimer's disease is now probably, after cancer, the most feared disease of old age.

Once considered a rare disorder, it is now known to be the most common type of senile dementia in the West, defined as physical damage to the brain in older age that results in major changes to reasoning, memory, personality and behaviour. Typically, the disease begins memory lapses, mood swings, and difficulty in finding the right words. Later, the person affected may become more confused and struggle to understand what is being said to them or even to respond with words.

Until recently, the only way to distinguish Alzheimer's from other types of dementia was by post-mortem examination of the brain. A typical AD brain is found to be partly atrophied, with the brain cells clumped together in what are called 'neurofibrillary tangles' or 'plaques'.

The second major type of dementia is vascular dementia, where the interruption of the brain's blood supply, usually due to 'mini- strokes', cause brain cells to die. The symptoms of vascular dementia which include depression, mood swings and confusion can occur suddenly or over time, although some mental abilities may be unchanged. Sometimes, the person affected may have some insight into their condition.

These two main types of dementia can now sometimes be distinguished from each other by brain scans using either magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron-emission tomography (PET).

There are other less common forms of dementia such as Lewy Bodies, Frontal lobe dementia, Pick's disease, alcohol abuse and Prion's Disease including CJD. Senile dementia is progressive, but the speed of change depends on the individual. All dementias are believed to be incurable.

Most older people do not develop a dementia. However, in this country, 1 in 20 people over 65 years old and 1 in 5 people over 85 years old have a dementia and it is on the increase, probably because we're all living longer. Perhaps surprisingly, 80 per cent of people with dementia still live in their own homes.

Source: Communicating with people with dementia WDDTY / Anchor Trust

Organisations:

Age Concern England www.ageconcern.org.uk

Alzheimers Society www.alzheimers.org.uk

For dementia www.fordementia.org.uk

The Princess Royal Trust for Carers www.carers.org

Some further reading:

'Dementia Reconsidered: The Person Comes First' by Tom Kitwood (Open University Press 1997)

'Introducing Dementia: The Essential Facts and Issues of Care' by David Sutcliffe, (Age Concern Books 2001)

'And Still the Music Plays' by Graham Stokes (Hawker Publications 2008)