What is Dementia?
Dementia is the progressive decline in cognitive function due to changes in the brain caused by disease or trauma. These changes in the brain may occur gradually or quickly. The pattern of these changes determines whether dementia is reversible or irreversible. Dementia makes it hard for a person to remember, think, reason, learn and communicate. Dementia is not a disease but a series of symptoms of a large group of illnesses which cause a progressive decline in the functioning of the brain. After a while, people suffering from dementia are unable to take care of themselves. Dementia is often associated with changes in mood and personality. In the early stages a person suffering from dementia may undergo lapses in memory and clear thinking, later on as dementia reaches advanced stages disruptive behavior and other problems can create a burden for caregivers and other family members.
Causes of Dementia
The damage or destruction of brain cells causes dementia. The brain cells can be damaged due to a head injury, stroke, brain tumor or age related memory loss diseases like Alzheimer's disease. Some people have a family history of dementia. Dementia is also caused by too much consumption of alcohol, especially with a poor diet, low in Vitamin B1. Dementia may also be caused by the AIDS virus, but does not affect everyone with AIDS.
Types of Dementia
Depending on which part of the brain is suspected as the cause of dementia, the dementia is broadly classified into two categories:
Cortical dementia
The cerebral cortex is the structure within the brain which plays an important role in processing incoming information and many complex brain functions including memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language and consciousness. When the outer layers of the cerebral cortex are affected there are characteristic problems with memory like the inability to recall words or happenings. Such form of dementia in which the cerebral cortex of the brain is affected is referred to as Cortical dementia. Alzheimer's, Pick's disease, Binswanger's disease, Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease come under this category.
Subcortical dementia
Subcortical dementia is a form of dementia, in which the parts of the brain that are beneath the cortex are damaged. Subcortical dementia is more likely to affect attention, motivation and emotional stability. People suffering from subcortical dementia tend to show changes in their personality like depression, clumsiness, irritability or apathy. As subcortical dementia progresses memory and judgment problems arise. Huntington's disease, Parkinson's Disease, and AIDS dementia complex come under this category.
Care and Treatment for Dementia
Some causes of dementia can be treated. Once the brain cells are destroyed it is almost impossible to regenerate them back. However there are treatments which can delay the progression of dementia and stop the loss of more brain cells. The fact of the matter is that, as there is no guaranteed treatment for people suffering from dementia the focus should be on "care". The care and support of loved ones and people around motivate a person suffering from dementia to strongly stand by and combat the ill effects of this disease. But with the busy schedule that each individual has, it can become quite difficult to strike a balance between performing day to day chores and providing proper care to the dementia patient at home.
At Heartwarming Care we specialize in providing in-home care and health care assistance for people suffering from dementia. We can provide these care services at home, hospital, or resident care. People suffering from dementia need special care and we at Heartwarming Care offer supervision, recreation, meals and other activities of daily living to provide respite for caregivers.
