Alicia kim's blog

What Is Dementia?

Dementia is a neurodegenerative disease in which a person who has been living a normal life experiences a decline in cognitive functions in various areas, such as memory, language, and judgment, due to acquired brain damage caused by various factors, resulting in significant difficulties in daily life.

Types of Dementia

There are many different types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, one of the most common disease regarding memory loss. The types are dependent on the various cause factors that results in different parts of brain to be in damage.

• Alzheimer’s Disease: a disease that is mainly caused by the accumulation of harmful protein called Beta Amyloid that eventually leads to loss of neurons and brain shrinkage.
• Lewy Body Dementia: a neurological disease that is caused by harmful proteins called Lewy Bodies that cause great damage to brain cells.
• and more…

Symptoms of Dementia

1. Loss of memory
2. Temporal, Spatial, Person disorientation
3. Impairment in language and speech
4. Impairment of spatiotemporal ability
5. Damage to brain regions that specializes in cognition
6. Interference of independent living
7. Continues to worsen
8. Difficulty in recalling with hints (retrieval cues)

Levels of Dementia

Early: 

• Able to live independently
• Forgetfulness in daily life & Recent memory decline
• Repeating what was said a while ago
• Decline in motivation
• Use ‘that’ or hesitate during conversation

Mid-stage:

• Can’t live alone & need care
• Takes more time to calculate
• Can’t identify 
• Can’t understand what others are saying 
• Decline in spatial navigation despite being in familiar place

Late-stage:

• Need absolute help from others to function in daily life
• Most memories lost
• Can’t recognize close people
• Either mumble or can’t speak at all

*There are some patients who may have conditions that are in between stages.