Are you experiencing memory loss, difficulty walking, and trouble thinking clearly? If yes, you may have developed dementia. It is a medical term used for brain function changes due to many factors and conditions. Many different types of dementia can affect your brain. It is a progressive disorder that has no cure. Knowing about the type of dementia can help in your treatment and slow down its progression. Learn about dementia and types of dementia in this article. Log on to www.doralhw.org for a consultation.
What is dementia?
Dementia is a medical term used to describe neurological changes that affect the brain functions such as memory, language, and decision-making which worsen over time. These changes create difficulty in the everyday lives of people, making it difficult to perform even basic tasks.
Most people develop dementia as they get older, but it doesn’t mean everyone will develop dementia. Many factors and conditions can cause dementia. Usually, dementia can’t be cured but, in some cases, if the cause of dementia is depression or drug and alcohol abuse, it can be reversed.
How long a person can develop its symptoms depends on the types of dementia you develop and what progression patterns it follows. In some cases, dementia can be prevented by following a healthy lifestyle but in others, the causes can be unknown, so it cannot be prevented.
Different types of dementia
There are many types of dementia, but here are the most common ones:
- Alzheimer’s disease:
This is the most common type of dementia which affects around 60 to 80% of cases of dementia. Usually, its risk increases with age. But in certain cases, its risk can be increased by genetic mutations or family history. Its early signs usually include forgetting names, neglecting personal care, mood, personality changes, disorientation, and more. It is caused when there is a gradual decline in cognitive abilities such as memory, language, behavior, movement, and thinking.
Alzheimer’s disease causes two abnormalities in the brain including – amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.
- Amyloid plaques are found in tissues between nerve cells and other cells.
- And neurofibrillary tangles are a group of twisted filaments within neurons. These tangles are made of a protein called tau which helps the functioning of microtubules, a part of cell structure that supports and delivers substances throughout nerve cells.
When Alzheimer’s disease affects the protein (tau) it breaks the group of filament structures, which destroys the neuron transport system, impairs communication between nerve cells, and later makes them die. That’s why when this progresses people are more likely to experience confusion and mood changes.
Usually, older people are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. But in certain cases, Alzheimer’s can affect people who are in their 40s or 50s.
- Vascular dementia:
This is the second most common type of dementia (20% of total dementia cases). It is caused by a lack of blood flow to the brain which happens as you age or with diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, atherosclerotic disease, and more. Stroke is the most common cause of this dementia.
Its symptoms appear slowly or suddenly, depending on its symptoms. Usually, confusion and disorientation are early signs, and later people may experience vision problems, hallucinations, or trouble completing tasks that require concentration for longer periods. As it damages the brain’s mid-regions, it causes a gradual, progressive cognitive impairment that resembles Alzheimer’s disease. That’s why many people confuse Alzheimer’s disease with this in the early stages, but in later stages, the symptoms change with this disease.
- Lewy body dementia:
This type of dementia is caused by protein deposits in nerve cells that interrupt the chemical messages in the brain and cause memory loss and disorientation. Usually, people experience visual hallucinations and trouble falling asleep with this type of dementia and fall asleep during the day. Sometimes, they even faint or get disoriented. Its symptoms are similar to Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. For example, many people experience trembling, trouble walking and feel weak. Lewy bodies are present in the brains of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Mostly, males are diagnosed with this dementia than females.
- Frontotemporal dementia:
This type of dementia affects only the front and side parts of the brain, which control the areas of language and behavior. It is also known as Pick’s disease.
Usually, it affects people as young as 45 years old. Researchers don’t know what causes this disease, but they know it does run in families and is caused by mutations in certain genes. This type of dementia causes the loss of inhibitions, and motivation, and leads to compulsive behavior. Symptoms include trouble in speech and forgetting the meaning of common words.
Frontotemporal dementia can cause more severe effects on speech than Alzheimer’s. But on the other hand, memory problems tend to progress slower than Alzheimer’s disease. This type of dementia is more common in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS.
- Mixed dementia:
This type of dementia happens when a person experiences more than one type of dementia. It is very common and particularly occurs in the combination of vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s. Around 45% of people with dementia have mixed dementia but they are not aware of it. Its symptoms can vary in different people. Some people may develop memory loss and disorientation first, while others may have behavior and mood changes. Most people with mixed dementia experience difficulty speaking and walking over time as the disease progresses.
Besides the above ones, here are some of the rare types of dementia which affect less than 1% of the population.
- CADASIL (cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy)
- Corticobasal syndrome (CBS)
- Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH)
- HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND)
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)
- Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)
- Huntington’s disease
Dementia is a term that is used for a group of diseases that affect your brain and impair its functions, mainly memory loss, and thinking. It is a progressive disease that progresses over time. There are many different types of dementia which are caused by different conditions and factors and each type has a different progression speed. While there is no cure for dementia you can manage your symptoms and slow the progression with medications and behavioral therapies.
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 +1-718-367-2555.
