A-Z Of Dementia And Its Kinds

Hope you found my article Know About Dementia And Its Kinds-1 informative. After a high tea the speaker on dementia began his speech after we had all congratulated and thanked him for giving such an informative speech.

A summary of what he told us about the other kind of dementia:

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease or CJD: This is one of the rarest forms of dementia and affects about 1 million people each year; a rapidly fatal dementia that impairs memory and coordination and causes behavior changes. Most people die within one year of diagnosis of this dementia. Resulting from unfolded prion protein it causes a "domino effect" in which prion protein throughout the brain unfolds and thus malfunctions. The symptoms of CJD are similar to other forms of dementia and could cause people to experience agitation and depression. The other common symptoms are confusion, loss of memory, and twitching and stiffness of muscle. 

Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome: This is not technically a form of dementia, but it has been classified as such because of the symptoms being similar. Being a chronic memory disorder that is caused by severe deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B-1), the most common causes for this disorder is malnutrition or chronic infections and alcoholism. It causes problems due to brain changes; the fall in the level of Thiamine hinders the brain cells capacity to produce energy out of sugar and hence the brain cannot function properly. You will find that the affected person suffers from severe memory problems while other thinking and social skills seem relatively unaffected. They will have difficulty in processing information, learning new skills, and remembering things, with some making up information to fill in the gaps in their memories without realizing they are doing it. 

Mixed Dementia: More common than previously thought, this form of dementia is a combination of more than one dementia, the most common being vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s. It is significant to note that about 45% of the dementia is of a mixed type with patients not being aware of it. Mixed dementia could cause different symptoms in different people, with some experiencing disorientation and memory loss, while others have changes in behavior and moods, while still others make have difficulty speaking and walking as the disease progresses.

Huntington’s Disease: Also recognized as a form of dementia, it is a progressive brain disorder caused by a single defective gene on chromosome 4, with this gene defect causing abnormalities in a brain protein that over time leads to worsening symptoms. The symptoms of this form of dementia are severe decline in thinking and reasoning skills, irritability, depression and other mood changes.

The speaker concluded that besides the various kinds of dementia and the causes there could be other causes that lead to dementia in late stages. The most significant of these causes are people who suffer from multiple sclerosis and people with HIV especially if they’re not taking anti-viral. Last but most important a condition like normal pressure hydrocephalus caused by fluid accumulating in the brain could cause dementia. Normal pressure hydrocephalus can be cured by surgery.  



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