Dementia

Understanding dementia
Our brain is the most complex part of our body. Its where
sights, sounds and sensations are interpreted, helping us to
make sense of the world. Its where memories are stored,
emotions are felt, problems are solved and decisions are
made. Its also the control centre for everything we say and
do. Our brain is the part of the body that makes you, you.

Defining dementia
Because the brain has so many different roles, illnesses that
harm the brain can have devastating effects.
Certain illnesses affect a persons brain gradually. Over
several months or years, a person with one of these illnesses
may begin to have many different problems.
People with dementia may start to have problems with
remembering, thinking, concentrating or speaking. They may
find it more difficult to do everyday things. Their behaviour or
personality might begin to change, so they say or do things
that seem strange. They may not seem like the same person
they used to be.

Some people may seem to have difficulties with their vision

because their brain is struggling to interpret the information
it receives from their healthy eyes. Not everyone gets all of
these problems and at first they may just have one of them.
We use the word dementia to describe these different
symptoms. Dementia is a word that describes a collection of
symptoms that can have different underlying causes. When
a person has signs of dementia, doctors try to find out which
illness is causing the problems.
 Causes of dementia
Many different illnesses can damage a persons brain and
cause dementia, but some are more common than others.
The chart below shows the four main types of dementia and
which are the most common.

Different types of dementia can affect different parts of the

brain at first, and have their own pattern of signs and
symptoms. For some people, the first signs of dementia may
be forgetfulness or confusion. For others, it may be changes
in behaviour and mood, or problems with speaking or seeing
what and where things are.
As time goes on, the diseases that cause dementia affect
more of a persons brain and cause new problems. It is also
possible to have more than one type of dementia at the same
time. This is called mixed dementia.
By understanding the illnesses that cause dementia,
scientists hope to find ways to prevent, treat and even cure
dementia in the future.
 Alzheimers disease
Alzheimers disease causes more than
half of all cases of dementia. When
people have this disease, the structure
and chemistry of their brain begins to
change. Sticky lumps of protein build up
inside and around brain cells. This
harms brain cells, and causes them to
die. We dont yet fully understand what
causes a persons brain to start
changing in this way.

Common symptoms can include:

Memory Loss
Regularly forgetting recent events, names and faces.

Confusion
Uncertainty about the time of day or place.

Disorientation
Disorientation, especially away from normal surroundings.
Getting lost.

Language
They have problems finding the right words.

Mood and behaviour

Some people become disinterested in whats happening around them,
become irritable, or lose confidence.
 Vascular dementia
Vascular dementia is the second most common type of
dementia. It is caused when blood vessels in the brain are
damaged, meaning that less blood reaches the brain than
normal. The damage may happen gradually over time, or
suddenly, when a person has a stroke. In both cases, brain
cells are damaged because they dont get the oxygen and
nutrients they need.

Common symptoms can include:

Thinking skills
They becoming slower in thinking.

Personality changes
These may include depression and apathy. People may also
become more emotional.

Movement problems
Having difficulty walking or changes in the way a person walks.

Bladder problems
Frequent urge to urinate or other bladder symptoms. This can
be common in older age, but can be a feature of vascular dementia
when seen with other symptoms.
 Dementia with Lewy bodies

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the third most common

cause of dementia. Lewy bodies are tiny, round clumps of
protein that build up inside brain cells. They stop brain cells
from working properly, causing dementia symptoms such as
memory loss. They can cause other problems too, such as
hallucinations (seeing things that arent really there), slowed
stiff movements and changes with sleep, causing people to
talk or move about in their sleep. People with DLB often have
big differences between their good days and bad days. On
bad days, they may be much more confused and less alert.

Some of the ways people are affected are:

Alertness
Changes in alertness, attention and confusion, which may be
unpredictable and change from hour-to hour or day-to-day.
Movement problems
Parkinsons disease-type symptoms such as slowed movements,
muscle stiffness and tremors.

Visual hallucinations
These can involve seeing people or animals that arent really there.

Restlessness
Sleep disturbances which can cause people to move or talk in their
sleep.

Stability
Fainting, unsteadiness and falls.
Frontotemporal dementia
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is caused by damage to
the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. These are the
parts of the brain that control personality, emotions,
behaviour, thinking and language. The symptoms of FTD
can vary, depending on which parts of the frontal and
temporal lobes are most affected. Although frontotemporal
dementia is rare compared to Alzheimers disease and
vascular dementia, it is the second most common cause of
early-onset dementia, which is the name for dementia in
people younger than 65 years old.

Here are some of the common symptoms of FTD.

Personality changes
This may include a change in how people express their feelings
towards others or a lack of understanding of other peoples feelings.
They may also show a lack of interest or concern, become disinhibited
or behave inappropriately.

Lack of personal awareness

People may fail to maintain their normal level of personal hygiene and
grooming.

Lack of social awareness

This might include making inappropriate jokes, or showing a lack of tact

Diet
Changes in food preference, over-eating or over-drinking.

Behaviour changes
People may change their humour or sexual behaviour, become violent
or develop unusual beliefs, interests or obsessions. Some people
become impulsive or easily distracted.
Who gets dementia?
Dementia can affect anybody male or female, wealthy or
poor from any part of the world. But it doesnt affect most
people. Researchers have discovered some risk factors
that increase a persons likelihood of developing dementia.
Age is the biggest risk factor: most people with dementia
are older than 65.
This tells us that older people are more likely to develop
dementia than younger people.

Here are some more facts about

dementia.

1. The illnesses that causes dementia are not infectious they

dont spread from person to person.
2. The younger a person is, the less likely they are to develop
dementia. When someone who is younger than 65 gets an
illness that causes dementia it is called early-onset dementia.

3. Dementia is not a normal part of getting older. Most older

people dont have dementia, even the very oldest people
who are older than 95.

4. Certain lifestyle factors such as smoking, heavy drinking and

being overweight can increase a persons risk of developing
many different illnesses, including dementia. These things
dont cause dementia they just make a person slightly more
likely to develop it.

5. Certain genes increase a persons risk of developing

dementia. These genes dont cause dementia they just
make a person slightly more likely to develop it.

6. A few, very rare, types of dementia are genetic, which

means that they are caused by faulty genes, and can be
passed down from one family member to another. Very few
people have these types of dementia.

7. Certain medical conditions increase a persons risk of

developing dementia, such as diabetes, high blood pressure
and high cholesterol.

8. Most cases of dementia are caused by a complex mix of

things, including a persons genes, age, lifestyle and
environment. By understanding the risk factors for
 dementia, scientists hope to find ways to prevent, treat
and cure dementia in the future.

Dealing with Dementia

Living with dementia can be very hard not just for the
person who is ill, but for their family and friends.
Lists of facts and symptoms help us to understand
dementia, but they cant describe the way dementia
changes a persons relationships with the people they love.
This is one of the most upsetting things about dementia,
and is different for every person and every family.

Most of the illnesses that cause dementia are progressive,

which means that the problems they cause become
gradually worse. Sadly, there is no way to stop or reverse
the damage that these illnesses do to a persons brain.

A person who is living with dementia will change over time.

Nobody can say for sure what the changes will be, or when
they will happen, because everyone experiences dementia
in a different way. In the early stages of dementia, some
people have a lot of difficulties with some things but can still
do other things well. For example, they may become very
forgetful but their personality and sense of humour may be
normal. Or it may just be their speech or behaviour that
changes initially, while their memory seems to be fine.

Research

55,000 people in Ireland are living with dementia. We need

to find better ways to:
 diagnose the diseases that cause dementia
treat people affected by dementia
improve care for people living with the condition.
Research has the power to help us do all of these things.
While there are medicines that can help peoples
symptoms, there are currently no treatments that can
prevent diseases like Alzheimers from developing or slow
the way they spread through the brain.
Despite what many people think, dementia isnt an
inevitable part of getting older.

I choose to do my project on dementia as my granny was

recently diagnosed with vascular dementia, so I thought it
would be interesting to learn about the disease and what
effects it has. After doing this project I am more
knowledgeable on the subject and how it effects my granny.

By Lily Rafferty