Dementia Research Paper

Improved Essays
Dementia
Arwin R. Covero
Odessa College
03/04/2015

Dementia
Dementia is an acquired condition that is characterized by a progressive deterioration of cognitive functioning and impairment of intellect without any changes in terms of consciousness. It can be described as a decline in person’s cognitive functioning such as loss of memory, attention to details, or thought processes. The progressive decline in brain function highly affect social and occupational functioning as well as their lifestyle and performance with activities of daily living. Most patients with this type of disorder will also exhibit some behavioral and psychological symptoms. It is the general term use to describe a variety of progressive conditions when brain cells die or no longer function. The most common type of dementia which account for 60% - 80% is Alzheimer’s disease. It is believed that the abnormal deposits of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles that accumulate in the brain contribute to the deterioration of normal brain functions (Rogers, 2008). It is important for us to determine the difference between normal age-related forgetfulness and memory loss from Alzheimer’s disease or any other type of dementia.
…show more content…
It is normal and common occurrence of the aging process to have slight memory loss or forgetfulness as long as it does not interfere with the person’s ability to perform its activities of daily living. Common example of memory loss due to aging process are, forgetting which day it is but remembering later, sometimes forgetting which word to use or misplacing car keys once in a while. However any type of severe memory loss such as losing track of the date or the season is neither consider a normal circumstances nor a part of age-associated memory loss. Old age doesn’t guarantee that a person will have dementia, there are many people living in their 80’s or even 90’s who still have good cognitive function which allow them to have an independent and active lives (Halter 2014). Evidence-Based Interventions to Improve Quality of Life for Individuals with Dementia Interventions to yield with a desired outcome of increasing pleasant events and decreasing depressive symptoms. A randomized clinical trial on behavioral therapy intervention were randomly assigned to persons with dementia and depression disorder. The focus of the study is to help person with dementia develop strategies and abilities to engage themselves and increase involvement in enjoyable and meaningful activities. The intervention will assist the person identify ways and techniques on how to increase pleasant events to prevent depressive behavior. Another interventions is to provide a progressively lowered stress threshold intervention which focuses on identifying and providing activities that are appropriate for the individual’s current level of functioning (Logsdon, McCurry, & Teri, 2008). The ability of an individual …show more content…
Community-based interventions focuses on providing family caregivers education about the impact of dementia on maintaining ADL with regards to functional skills and behavior of an individual. Family caregiver were given training by occupational therapy resulted to an improve ADL for individuals with dementia. The outcome of the intervention improve the caregiver’s affect, increase feelings of competence and self-efficacy of which can improve the quality of life for individual with dementia. The importance of maintaining mobility and physical activity will help improve QOL of persons with dementia. Intervention involving individualized program such as physical exercise will help maintain mobility and physical activity. An intervention to maintain cognitive functioning will provide cognitive training strategies. Activities include specific memory training, general problem solving, and use of memory aids such as notebooks or calendars (Logsdon, McCurry, & Teri,

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    What is dementia? Dementia is an illness or disease of the brain that includes memory loss and leads an individual to experience difficulties with thinking, problem solving and language. In the beginning the changes will be small and gradually become severe enough to affect an individual’s daily life.…

    • 1482 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dementia is an umbrella term. By this I mean that it covers many different conditions. Each condition affects the brain and can lead to dementia due to brain de deterioration and loss of function. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome- this is a brain disorder in which not getting enough B1 vitamin will affect your brain function. B1 vitamin is used in the brain to change sugar into energy.…

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    P1: Describe types of dementia and common signs and symptoms Dementia is what’s known as an “irreversible brain disorder affecting different parts of the brain, causing an effect on a range of functions” Bartle (2007). Every from of dementia is a progressive condition, this means that the brain will become damaged more over time, this therefore means a person’s ability to remember, communicate and understand what goes on around them may will decline. When researches such as scientists look at dementia they find that the progression of dementia will alter between different individuals as they may experience different stages of dementia. When identifying and diagnosing dementia in people often in later adulthood they will look at what stage…

    • 2127 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1.Provide a script of a Clinical Psychologist's description to their patient with a trauma disorder (Acute or Post) in terms of the neuroscience features---what changes in their brain functioning may be occurring as a function of the condition. What you are experiencing is called PTSD. When someone suffers a trauma, any type of trauma, the brain and body react. A trauma-related neuropathway is created that can be repeatedly reactivated, for some these changes pass in a few weeks, the disruption in mood or dreams does not last long. For others the symptoms can remain and start to interfere with day to day life.…

    • 1177 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Alzheimer’s Violeta Mota Brookline College August 1, 2017 Alzheimer’s Reaserching Alszheimer’s disease expanded my knowledge immensely form the common thought of it being a disease that causes the elderly to loose their memory. This disease has been proven to affect 200,000 civilians younger than 65. It is the 6th leading cause of death in the us. Those who get this disease live an average of 8 years. In the first stages of these disease there is mild memory loss but in the last stages the patient can’t carry a normal conversation.…

    • 388 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The late stage of Alzheimer’s is very difficult for family and friends A. Care is extensively hard during this stage, for a family member or caregiver B. Additional assistance from the nursing home or home health care. 1. Families could consider hospice care. 2. "Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, affects more than 10% of those 65 years and older, increasing to 30% in those 85 years and older" stated by Johanna J. C. When an individual starts to become less active, he or she may require less food due to appetite.…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dementia Syndrome Essay

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Dementia actually just wipes memory in a sporadic fashion. A patient does not even necessarily lose whole memories, just pieces of various memories. Dementia can also affect a person’s ability to create new short term memories, which is where the misunderstanding comes from. Memory loss is usually the first sign of Alzheimer’s dementia because the syndrome affects the hippocampus section of the brain first.…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dementia Assessment Paper

    • 2376 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Traditional assessment tools for the diagnosis of dementia are usually not suitable when evaluating individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). In addition, the majority of healthcare providers is not armed with the training and experience needed to care for that population holistically. This paper centers on: the progressive changes that occur with dementia especially for individuals with Down Syndrome (DS); the various types of dementia and a focus on Alzheimer’s disease (AD); assessments specifically for the IDD population; and the importance of creating a support system for the individual their advocates; most importantly the need for an interdisciplinary team to have the necessary tools to provide the right care for this population. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) formally referred to as Mental Retardation is a condition,…

    • 2376 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dementia Research Paper

    • 243 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Dementia. A beautiful mind that memories and events are too quickly fading away and forgotten. You start noticing friends and family around start to distance themselves because they don’t have the patience and tolerance to hear the same story or questions several times over, but that’s all they know and remember. The alienation is not only felt by that person ,but the person next to them.…

    • 243 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    I currently work full time at a nursing home as a state-tested nurse aide. My job is to assist people who cannot care for themselves to perform basic care that is required on a daily basis. A few of my job duties include helping residents of this facility with bathing, getting dressed each morning, brushing their teeth, assisting them in eating their meals, and taking them to the restroom,. That is just a small amount of tasks I complete in during an exhausting 12-hour shift. In the medical field, this care is called activities of daily living, or ADL’s for short.…

    • 1653 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    It may sound inconsequential but sticking to a well-structured routine is a proven way of keeping suffers stable. Unfamiliar practices and locations could really upset sufferers and sticking to a routine encourages them to avoid this, promoting an air or independence and reducing potential panic attacks. Personal care is also important in dementia care and carers will be able to help patients with facilities that become difficult as the disease progresses such as help with washing, bathing and using the toilet. A dementia care worker needs to be able to look after a sufferer's mental state as well as their physical state.…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dementia Research Paper

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Dementia and its Unwelcomed Family Members Jaclyn Napoli University of South Florida Author Note Jaclyn Napoli Health Sciences Undergraduate, University of South Florida. This paper is part of the portfolio project for GEY 4612 Psychology of Aging. Any correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: Jaclyn Napoli, Health Sciences Undergraduate, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620.…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Alzheimer’s Association also defines the word “dementia” as a general term we use for the decline of memory loss and mental ability for everyday life. Just hearing those definitions, most people still won’t understand why we need a cure, or they use these words carelessly and in the wrong situations. According to the Alzheimer’s Association Foundation, in both cases, the neurons of the brain who has the disease “break connections with other nerve cells and ultimately die.”…

    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The structure of the brain is constantly changing from birth throughout the lifetime. It states that as our brain ages we start to lose our memory, retrieve new information etc. Also, people usually who are above age sixty an experience in cognitive decline, for example: weaken memory loss, decision making, social skills, remembering, paying attention, problem solving, and unclear thoughts. The experience of cognitive and memory loss as aging affects our daily routine and can impact out personality. 2/3 of people will eventually experience a significant loss of mental strength and understanding capabilities because of aging.…

    • 1453 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The intellectual abilities of late adulthood could change, grow or decline in some areas for the cause of parts such as their functional age, environmental, cultural factor, biological as well as their accomplishment of integrity or gerotranscedence. In late adulthood individual intellectual abilities are based on their cognitive functions, those abilities with sub categories. The subcategories are assessed by perception, thinking, remembering, communicating, orienting, calculating and problem solving. It’s also based on a memory types such as long time and short term memory as well as the episodic memory. Cognition is said to be a mental activity with the ability to process information, awareness, thinking, remembering ect… Memory decrease…

    • 416 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays