Dementia (meaning "deprived of mind") is a serious loss of cognitive Cognition is the scientific term for "the process of thought" to knowing. Usage of the term varies in different disciplines; for example in psychology and cognitive science, it usually refers to an information processing view of an individual's psychological functions. Other interpretations of the meaning of cognition link it to the ability in a previously-unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging Ageing or aging (American and Canadian English) is the accumulation of changes in an organism or object over time. Ageing in humans refers to a multidimensional process of physical, psychological, and social change. Some dimensions of ageing grow and expand over time, while others decline. Reaction time, for example, may slow with age, while. It may be static, the result of a unique global brain injury, or progressive, resulting in long-term decline due to damage or disease A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune diseases in the body. Although dementia is far more common in the geriatric Geriatrics is the branch of medicine that focuses on health care of the elderly. It aims to promote health and to prevent and treat diseases and disabilities in older adults population, it may occur in any stage of adulthood.
This age cutoff is defining, as similar sets of symptoms due to organic brain syndrome Organic brain syndrome is an older and nearly obsolete general term from psychiatry, referring to many physical disorders that cause impaired mental function. It usually does not include psychiatric disorders. Originally, the term was created to distinguish physical (termed "organic") causes of mental impairment from psychiatric (termed & or dysfunction, are given different names in populations younger than adult. Up to the end of the nineteenth century, dementia was a much broader clinical concept.[1]
Dementia is a non-specific illness syndrome In medicine and psychology, the term syndrome refers to the association of several clinically recognizable features, signs , symptoms (reported by the patient), phenomena or characteristics that often occur together, so that the presence of one feature alerts the physician to the presence of the others. In recent decades the term has been used (set of signs and symptoms A symptom is a departure from normal function or feeling which is noticed by a patient, indicating the presence of disease or abnormality. A symptom is subjective, observed by the patient, and not measured) in which affected areas of cognition may be memory In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing the memory. The late nineteenth and early twentieth century put memory within the paradigms of cognitive psychology. In recent decades, it has, attention Attention is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things. Attention has also been referred to as the allocation of processing resources , language A language is a particular kind of system for encoding and decoding information. Since language and languages became an object of study by the ancient grammarians, the term has had many definitions. The English word derives from Latin lingua, "language, tongue," with a reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root of *dnghû-, "tongue,&, and problem solving Problem solving is a mental process and is part of the larger problem process that includes problem finding and problem shaping. Considered the most complex of all intellectual functions, problem solving has been defined as higher-order cognitive process that requires the modulation and control of more routine or fundamental skills. Problem. It is normally required to be present for at least 6 months to be diagnosed;[2] cognitive dysfunction that has been seen only over shorter times, in particular less than weeks, must be termed delirium Delirium is an acute and debilitating decline in the ability to focus attention, perception, and cognition that produces an altered form of semi-consciousness. It is a systemic syndrome caused by a chemical or disease-process which is disrupting the neurons of the cerebral cortex. Though hallucinations and delusions are often present, the symptoms. In all types of general cognitive dysfunction, higher mental functions are affected first in the process.
Especially in the later stages of the condition, affected persons may be disoriented Orientation is a function of the mind involving awareness of three dimensions: time, place and person. Problems with orientation lead to disorientation, and can be due to various conditions, from delirium to intoxication. Typically, disorientation is first in time, then in place and finally in person in time (not knowing what day of the week, day of the month, or even what year it is), in place (not knowing where they are), and in person (not knowing who they are or others around them). Dementia, though often treatable to some degree, is usually due to causes that are progressive and incurable.[citation needed]
Symptoms of dementia can be classified as either reversible or irreversible, depending upon the etiology Etiology is the study of causation, or origination. The word is derived from the Greek αἰτιολογία, aitiologia, "giving a reason for" (αἰτία, aitia, "cause"; and -λογία, -logia) of the disease. Less than 10 percent of cases of dementia are due to causes that may presently be reversed with treatment. Causes include many different specific disease processes, in the same way that symptoms of organ dysfunction such as shortness of breath, jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus , is a yellowish discoloration of the skin, the conjunctival membranes over the sclerae (whites of the eyes), and other mucous membranes caused by hyperbilirubinemia (increased levels of bilirubin in the blood). This hyperbilirubinemia subsequently causes increased levels of bilirubin in the extracellular fluids, or pain Pain is the unpleasant and aversive feeling common to such experiences as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut and bumping the "funny bone". The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or are attributable to many etiologies.
Without careful assessment of history, the short-term syndrome of delirium Delirium is an acute and debilitating decline in the ability to focus attention, perception, and cognition that produces an altered form of semi-consciousness. It is a systemic syndrome caused by a chemical or disease-process which is disrupting the neurons of the cerebral cortex. Though hallucinations and delusions are often present, the symptoms (often lasting days to weeks) can easily be confused with dementia, because they have all symptoms in common, save duration, and the fact that delirium is often associated with over-activity of the sympathetic nervous system.[citation needed] Some mental illnesses A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern that occurs in an individual and is thought to cause distress or disability that is not expected as part of normal development or culture. The recognition and understanding of mental disorders has changed over time and across cultures. Definitions, assessments, and, including depression Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity. While often described as a dysfunction, there are also strong arguments for seeing depression as an adaptive defense mechanism and psychosis Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality". People suffering from psychosis are said to be psychotic, may also produce symptoms that must be differentiated from both delirium and dementia.[3] Chronic use of substances such as alcohol An alcoholic beverage is a drink that contains ethanol . Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits as well as chronic sleep deprivation Sleep deprivation, a sleep disorder characterized by having too little sleep, can be either chronic or acute. Long-term sleep deprivation causes certain death in severe cases, especially with lab animals. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight gains can also predispose the patient to cognitive changes suggestive of dementia.
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BBC News
A distraction therapy devised by two Essex nurses for patients with dementia is set to be rolled out in the East. The Tiptree Box was chosen by NHS East of ...
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Jane Roberts around 1999 My mom had always been an activist and forever relished a good fight for the things she believed in but found herself at age 76 after moving out to Los Angeles to
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Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:24:16 GM
As though all the arguments and concerns that have piled up have become too much, and supporters are just covering their eyes and ears. It almost seems like a pathology at this point. Yankee . Dementia. Disease. ...
Q. My grandma is suffering from dementia mainly because she is extremely un-exposed and hardly leaves her house. I want to give her a book to read to help stimulate her brain but Im not sure what will be interesting. It has to be something that is easy reading with words that aren't too small. Any suggesstions?? I really want to know as soon as possible.
Asked by Amy G - Thu Apr 3 00:51:37 2008 - - 6 Answers - 0 Comments
A. great idea! i would suggest looking around the house to see what kind of books she already has. the worn ones are her favorites. let me also suggest a game of scrabble once or twice a week
Answered by everymom - Thu Apr 3 10:39:53 2008
