Dementia According to alz.org, there are “more than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, 1 in 3 seniors die with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, and every 66 seconds someone in the United States develops the disease.” Alzheimer’s is just one of the many forms of dementia. And what is dementia exactly? Dementia is when a person is unable to think, remember, or reason to the point where it affects one’s daily life.
Background
Before dementia was even known by that term, in the 6th century BC, a Greek physician known as Pythagoras called it “senium by “imbecility, meaning decay of physical and mental capabilities”. During the 4th century BC, Hippocrates referred to it is as paranoia. And around these time periods, there was a lot …show more content…
An example given by Markus MacGill, a scientist, is that repetitive brain injury, such as the ones received by professional football players can lead to early onset dementia. The more head trauma, there is the greater chance of a person having some form of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s. Some other unknown causes of dementia include HIV, because of the virus that this person obtains how it effects the brain cells is unknown. Interactions and how the body reacts to certain medications, depression, lack of vitamins, and thyroid abnormalities can also result in a person being diagnosed with dementia.
Symptoms
Common symptoms of dementia include memory loss where this person might continually ask the same question; being unable to complete familiar tasks such as morning routines that have been done numerous times; and being unable to communicate, for example, not remembering certain words.
Other symptoms include disorientation such as forgetting directions; having issues thinking and remembering how to do things such as dealing with money; misplacing items, mood and personality changes, and not showing interest in doing activities.
Who is at …show more content…
Generally and unfortunately, there is no cure yet for any dementia and there is not really a way to slow down its progression like they would do for cancer cells. Since Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, there is medication given, specifically four and they are: donepezil, alantamine, rivastigmine, and tacrine. There are ways to prevent dementia since it is a disorder that a person will have to live with until death. They include: not smoking or drinking, not consuming too much cholesterol, and taking proper vitamins. And it is always important for any disorder/disease that a person gets checked out as soon as possible because the earlier the disorder/disease is spotted, doctors can begin to work on treatment and preventions of it spreading.
References
Fukui, T. (2015). Historical review of academic concepts of dementia in the world and Japan: with a short history of representative diseases. Neurocase (Psychology Press), 21(3), 369-376. doi:10.1080/13554794.2014.894532
MacGill, Markus. 2016. Dementia: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments. Medical News Today
Unknown. Dementia: Hope Through Research. (2004). Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health.
Warchol, Kim. Major Neurocognitive Disorder: The DSM-5’s New Term for
Background
Before dementia was even known by that term, in the 6th century BC, a Greek physician known as Pythagoras called it “senium by “imbecility, meaning decay of physical and mental capabilities”. During the 4th century BC, Hippocrates referred to it is as paranoia. And around these time periods, there was a lot …show more content…
An example given by Markus MacGill, a scientist, is that repetitive brain injury, such as the ones received by professional football players can lead to early onset dementia. The more head trauma, there is the greater chance of a person having some form of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s. Some other unknown causes of dementia include HIV, because of the virus that this person obtains how it effects the brain cells is unknown. Interactions and how the body reacts to certain medications, depression, lack of vitamins, and thyroid abnormalities can also result in a person being diagnosed with dementia.
Symptoms
Common symptoms of dementia include memory loss where this person might continually ask the same question; being unable to complete familiar tasks such as morning routines that have been done numerous times; and being unable to communicate, for example, not remembering certain words.
Other symptoms include disorientation such as forgetting directions; having issues thinking and remembering how to do things such as dealing with money; misplacing items, mood and personality changes, and not showing interest in doing activities.
Who is at …show more content…
Generally and unfortunately, there is no cure yet for any dementia and there is not really a way to slow down its progression like they would do for cancer cells. Since Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, there is medication given, specifically four and they are: donepezil, alantamine, rivastigmine, and tacrine. There are ways to prevent dementia since it is a disorder that a person will have to live with until death. They include: not smoking or drinking, not consuming too much cholesterol, and taking proper vitamins. And it is always important for any disorder/disease that a person gets checked out as soon as possible because the earlier the disorder/disease is spotted, doctors can begin to work on treatment and preventions of it spreading.
References
Fukui, T. (2015). Historical review of academic concepts of dementia in the world and Japan: with a short history of representative diseases. Neurocase (Psychology Press), 21(3), 369-376. doi:10.1080/13554794.2014.894532
MacGill, Markus. 2016. Dementia: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments. Medical News Today
Unknown. Dementia: Hope Through Research. (2004). Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health.
Warchol, Kim. Major Neurocognitive Disorder: The DSM-5’s New Term for