Dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life (Alzheimer 's Association®, 2016). According to a study done at Erasmus University Medical School, the likelihood of dementia increases exponentially with age nearly one third of the population aged 85 and over has dementia (Ott et al., 1995). The most commonly heard of form of dementia is Alzheimer 's disease. And although this makes sense, considering it is the most common form, affecting around 5.4 million Americans (Alzheimer 's Association®, 2013) there are other forms that deserve to be recognized. The second and third most common forms of dementia in America are Vascular Dementia and Lewy Body Dementia. Primarily, we will focus on vascular
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(LBD Association, 2016) To fully understand this form, we first need to understand what a Lewy Body is. These are abnormal groups or clumps of protein that develop in nerve cells in Parkinson 's disease and obviously, Lewy Body Dementia. This disease shares numerous symptoms with both Alzheimer 's and Parkinson 's diseases, actually, only differing from Parkinson 's disease slightly in its early stages. Therefore, it proves to be quite difficult to diagnose correctly. Also, symptoms develop very slowly, sometimes taking up to two years to reach a level where doctors are able to diagnose it. (LBD Association, …show more content…
To slow the progression of memory and concentration loss, medications called cholinesterase inhibitors, which were originally developed to treat Alzheimer 's, may be prescribed. It is actually believed that these medications have a larger effect on LBD patients than Alzheimer 's patients As for trouble with balance and movement, symptoms are treated with a medication created for Parkinson 's called levidipa. However, it is sometimes better to leave mild symptoms untreated to avoid less-than-desirable side-effects. Hallucinations can become very disruptive to everyday life, so to lessen those, patients may be prescribed an antipsychotic medication (LBD Association,
(LBD Association, 2016) To fully understand this form, we first need to understand what a Lewy Body is. These are abnormal groups or clumps of protein that develop in nerve cells in Parkinson 's disease and obviously, Lewy Body Dementia. This disease shares numerous symptoms with both Alzheimer 's and Parkinson 's diseases, actually, only differing from Parkinson 's disease slightly in its early stages. Therefore, it proves to be quite difficult to diagnose correctly. Also, symptoms develop very slowly, sometimes taking up to two years to reach a level where doctors are able to diagnose it. (LBD Association, …show more content…
To slow the progression of memory and concentration loss, medications called cholinesterase inhibitors, which were originally developed to treat Alzheimer 's, may be prescribed. It is actually believed that these medications have a larger effect on LBD patients than Alzheimer 's patients As for trouble with balance and movement, symptoms are treated with a medication created for Parkinson 's called levidipa. However, it is sometimes better to leave mild symptoms untreated to avoid less-than-desirable side-effects. Hallucinations can become very disruptive to everyday life, so to lessen those, patients may be prescribed an antipsychotic medication (LBD Association,