Dementia: Symptoms and Treatments

Dementia: Symptoms and Treatments

 Dementia:

• Dementia is the syndrome including the symptoms of deterioration in thinking and in behavior ,the ability in performing daily tasks and memory     
• The dementia generally affects  people of older age but dementia is not a normal part of ageing.
• Approximately 50 million individuals in the World have dementia and approximately every year there are about 10 million new cases.
•  The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer's disease and may comprises of 60–70% of cases.
• Dementia is among  the main reason  of dependency and disability  in the people of older age worldwide.
• Dementia has a psychological, economic, social, and  physical  impact, not only on the people of dementia, as well as on their  careers and society  and families on  large scale.

Symptoms of Dementia:

Early stage: Usually the initial stage of dementia is generally overlooked, as  the development of the disorder is gradual. Common symptoms include:

• losing track of the time
• Forgetfulness
• becoming lost in familiar places.

Middle stage: When the dementia developed to the middle stage, the symptoms and signs   become prominent and more restricting. These include:

• becoming lost at home 
• having increasing difficulty with communication
• becoming forgetful of recent events and people's names 
• experiencing behaviour changes, including wandering and repeated questioning.
• needing help with personal care.
• Late stage: During late stage of dementia the individual is of near total inactivity and dependence .The person have severe  memory disturbances and the physical symptoms and signs  become more obvious. 
• Symptoms include:

• having an increasing need for assisted self-care 
• having difficulty recognizing relatives and friends
• becoming unaware of the time and place 
• Changes in behaviour  which can include aggression and  that can be escalate .
• having difficulty walking

Treatment of Dementia:

Medications:

The following medicines are prescribed for the temporarily improvement of   symptoms of dementia.

Cholinesterase Inhibitors: The group of these medications comprises of  rivastigmine(Exelon) donepezil (Aricept)and galantamine (Razadyne) is usually effects by increasing the  levels of the chemical messenger responsible for  judgment and memory.

Memantine: Memantine (Namenda) it is effect and regulate the activity of glutamate, it is a chemical messenger that is responsible for the functioning of the brain, such as memory and learning. For some cases, memantine is used in combination with a cholinesterase inhibitor.

Therapies Used for Dementia Treatment:

Occupational Therapy: In Occupational therapy An the therapist may  teach coping behaviors and guide you how you can make your home safer. The purpose of therapy is to avoid accidents, like falls; manage behavior and prepare the individual for the progression of  dementia.

Modifying the Environment:  Eliminating noise and clutter may make it easier for individual with dementia to function and focus effectively. It might required to hide all the objects which can be a  threat for safety, like keys and knives. Systems used for monitoring can alert you if the individual with dementia wanders.

Simplifying Tasks :By breaking the tasks into easier and small steps and focus on success and not on the failure. Routine and structure can  be helpful in reducing confusion in people with dementia.