WHO (World Health Organization) reports say that ‘55 million people (about twice the population of Texas) live with dementia worldwide, with over 10 million new cases every year.’

Dementia is a condition marked by a progressive decline in brain functions like memory, orientation, learning abilities, language, and thought processing. These changes might follow or go side by side with mood swings and behavior and emotional disturbances.

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What causes Dementia?

The main reason- loss or damage of neurons and changes in your brain chemistry either due to a disease or an injury.

What’s interesting is that it is not a disease but a sign of something more alarming than just plain ‘forgetfulness.’

Here’s a little bit about different diseases and their link to dementia.

PROGRESSIVE DEMENTIAS

These are dementias that are irreversible and are linked with permanent damage to your brain cells.

• Alzheimer’s disease. This is the most common cause of dementia (associated with over 70% of cases).
• The causes of Alzheimer’s disease are non-specific and can range from a genetic mutation to heredity and effects of aging.
• It is typically characterized by protein (beta-amyloid) plaques and tangles (tau proteins). These toxic proteins accumulate in your brain and destroy the brain cells and their connections.
• This can lead to memory deterioration, mood disorders, coordination issues, and loss of language skills.

• Vascular dementia.
  • This is a type of dementia that happens when the blood vessels of your brain get damaged.
  • It has been linked to problems like stroke or damage to the nerves in the white matter of your brain.
  • The most common symptoms of vascular damage to the brain include loss of focus, critical-thinking skills, and problem-solving abilities.

• Lewy body dementia.
  • Lewy bodies are abnormal clusters of protein in your brain that lead to neuron damage.
  • Common signs and symptoms include difficulty with focus and attention, coordination issues, tremors, and hallucinations (visual).

• Frontotemporal dementia.
  • The frontal and temporal lobes nerves are damaged in this disease.
  • These areas of your brain are responsible for speech, language, personality, and behavior, and frontotemporal dementias are associated with memory loss and behavioral & personality issues along with speech difficulties.

• Mixed dementia.
  • This is found in people older than 80 years of age and it has a combination of different forms of dementia (such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and Lewy body dementia). Very little is known about this type of dementia.

DISORDERS LINKED TO DEMENTIA

• Huntington’s disease.
  • This is a genetic disorder that leads to the wasting away of your brain and spinal cord.
  • It is usually seen in middle-aged adults (30-40 years) and is characterized by a severe decline in brain function and cognitive skills.

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI).
  • This condition is caused due to repetitive head injury (most often seen in boxers, football players, and soldiers).
  • Signs and symptoms can range from memory loss to mood changes and impaired speech (depending on the area of the brain that’s injured).
  • Traumatic brain injury has been linked to Parkinsonism in some cases.

• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
  • This is a rare brain disorder caused due to deposits of prions (infectious proteins)in your brain tissue.

• Parkinson’s disease.
  • Many people with Parkinson’s develop dementia (Parkinson’s disease dementia) in the advanced stages of the disease.

CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE DEMENTIA-LIKE SYMPTOMS 

(REVERSIBLE)

• Immune disorders. Like Multiple sclerosis and Lupus
• Metabolic and endocrine abnormalities. Like Hypothyroidism and Diabetes
• Nutritional deficiencies. Like Dehydration, vitamin B (B1, B6, and B12) and E deficiencies, and Copper & Calcium deficiency.
• Like anti-depressants.
• Brain tumors.

Dementia has terrible effects on your physical & mental health and financial & social position. It also affects your social interactions, career, families, and loved ones. Society has always looked at it as a shameful condition, and this becomes a huge barrier to proper diagnosis and care. We believe that everyone has the right to a happy, healthy life.

Doral Health and Wellness has several urgent care clinics around New York that can cater to your family’s medical needs. We also have the best medical providers, physicians and staff that are highly trained in their respective specialties. To know more about the locations of our urgent care clinics, you can visit us at Doral Health and Wellness. If you are looking for urgent care near you, you can visit Doral Health and Wellness Urgent Care. We provide urgent care for common illnesses and injuries. Additionally, we also provide comprehensive care for any related injuries and health problems. We also offer other services, such as vaccinations, immunizations, and blood testing. For more info, visit us or call 1-347-384-5690.