A condition or disease that has serious consequences on the brain and especially the mind

Funciton of the brain will, in some manner, worsen with age.   Memory, thought process, concepts and more will be affected.

A ”normal” loss of brain function is probable in the typical adult and is expected.

Dementia, however, is a level of brain deterioration that is above and beyond the “normal” loss of function.

Typically affects the older population but can be seen any adult age.

Often diagnosis occurs following 6 months of symptoms

Symptoms:

     -     Jaundice
     -     Change in memory – both short and long – one or the other is often more affected
     -     Change in language
     -     Change in problem solving
     -     Disorientation of place
     -     Disorientation of time
     -     Depression
     -     Anger
     -     Confusion

Types or Classifications of Dementia

1.)    Cortical dementia
        -    dementias that are the result of changes to the cerebral cortex
        -    often things such as loss of speech, ability to remember language and memory problems can be seen.

2.)    Subcortical dementia
        -    dementia that are the result of changes below the cerebral cortex.
        -    difficulty with memory and language are typically [but not always] not seen
        -    changes in personality, and/or speed of thinking and the ability to stay on task are variably affected.

Examples of the 2 types of Dementia:

1.)    Cortical dementia

.      Alzheimer’s Disease
.      Dementia with Lewy Bodies
.      Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease
.      Alcohol-Induced Persisting Dementia
.      Vascular Dementia

2.)    Subcortical dementia

.      Parkinson’s disease
.      Hypothyroidism
.      Huntington’s disease
.      Hypoglycemia
.      Vitamin B1 deficiency
.      Vitamin B12 deficiency
.      Subdural hematoma
.      AIDS dementia complex
.      Dementia of unknown origin
.      Dementia not otherwise classified
.      many others

Examination of Dementia includes:

1.)   Mini-Mental State Exam
2.)   Drawing
3.)   Memory recall
4.)   Informative questionnaires
5.)   Neurophyschological testing
6.)   Blood tests
7.)   CT or MRI
8.)   PET scan
9.)   others

Treatment

Often no curative treatment exists

When treatment is an option it is usually due to dementia of an underlying condition as mentioned above

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors

.          Tacrine   (Cognex)
.          Rivastigmine   (Exelon)
.          Donepezil   (Aricept)
.          Galantamine   (Razadyne)

N-Methyl-D-aspartate Blockers

.         Memantine   (Namenda)

Antidepressant drugs

Anti-psychotic drugs

Others

.         Selegiline  -  used in treatment of Parkinson’s disease