Dementia

Dementia Treatment in Raipur, CG

Dementia Disease

Dementia Psychiatry

DEALING WITH Dementia Disorders

Dementia Overview

Dementia is a term used to describe a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with your daily life. It isn’t a specific disease, but several diseases can cause dementia.

Though dementia generally involves memory loss, memory loss has different causes. Having memory loss alone doesn’t mean you have dementia, although it’s often one of the early signs of the condition.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of a progressive dementia in older adults, but there are a number of other causes of dementia. Depending on the cause, some dementia symptoms might be reversible.

Of those at least 65 years of age, there is an estimated 5.0 million adults with dementia in 2014 and projected to be nearly 14 million by 2060.

DEALING WITH Dementia Disorders

Dementia Symptoms

Dementia symptoms vary depending on the cause, but common signs and symptoms include:

Cognitive changes

  • Memory loss, which is usually noticed by someone else
  • Difficulty communicating or finding words
  • Difficulty with visual and spatial abilities, such as getting lost while driving
  • Difficulty reasoning or problem-solving
  • Difficulty handling complex tasks
  • Difficulty with planning and organizing
  • Difficulty with coordination and motor functions
  • Confusion and disorientation

Psychological changes

  • Personality changes
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Inappropriate behavior
  • Paranoia
  • Agitation
  • Hallucinations

DEALING WITH Dementia Disorders

Dementia Diagnosis

Diagnosing dementia and its type can be challenging. To diagnose the cause of the dementia, the doctor must recognize the pattern of the loss of skills and function and determine what a person is still able to do. More recently, biomarkers have become available to make a more accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Your doctor will review your medical history and symptoms and conduct a physical examination. He or she will likely ask someone close to you about your symptoms as well.

No single test can diagnose dementia, so doctors are likely to run a number of tests that can help pinpoint the problem.

Cognitive and neuropsychological tests

Doctors will evaluate your thinking ability. A number of tests measure thinking skills, such as memory, orientation, reasoning and judgment, language skills, and attention.

Neurological evaluation

Doctors evaluate your memory, language, visual perception, attention, problem-solving, movement, senses, balance, reflexes and other areas.

Brain scans

  • CT or MRI. These scans can check for evidence of stroke or bleeding or tumor or hydrocephalus.
  • PET scans. These can show patterns of brain activity and whether the amyloid or tau protein, hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, have been deposited in the brain.

Laboratory tests

Simple blood tests can detect physical problems that can affect brain function, such as vitamin B-12 deficiency or an underactive thyroid gland. Sometimes the spinal fluid is examined for infection, inflammation or markers of some degenerative diseases.

Psychiatric evaluation

A mental health professional can determine whether depression or another mental health condition is contributing to your symptoms.

DEALING WITH Dementia Disorders

Dementia Treatment

Treatment of dementia depends on the underlying cause. Neurodegenerative dementias, like Alzheimer’s disease, have no cure, though there are medications that can help protect the brain or manage symptoms such as anxiety or behavior changes. Research to develop more treatment options is ongoing.
Leading a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise, healthy eating, and maintaining social contacts, decreases chances of developing chronic diseases and may reduce number of people with dementia. Most types of dementia can’t be cured, but there are ways to manage your symptoms.

  • Medications
  • Therapies
  • Clinical trials
  • Lifestyle and home remedies
  • Alternative medicine
What you can do

When you make the appointment, ask if there’s anything that needs to be done in advance, such as fasting before certain tests. Make a list of:

  • Symptoms, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment, and when they began
  • Key personal information, including any major stresses or recent life changes and family medical history
  • All medications, vitamins or supplements you take, including the doses
  • Questions to ask the doctor