Dementia Overview

• Dementia Overview
• Dementia Causes
• Dementia Symptoms
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Exams and Tests
• Dementia Treatment
• Self-Care at Home
• Medical Treatment
• Medications
• Surgery
• Other Therapy
• Next Steps
• Follow-up
• Prevention
• Outlook
• Support Groups and Counseling
• For More Information
• Web Links
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Authors and Editors

Dementia Overview

Dementia is a decline of reasoning, memory, and other mental abilities (the cognitive functions). This decline eventually impairs the ability to carry out everyday activities such as driving; household chores; and even personal care such as bathing, dressing, and feeding (often called activities of daily living, or ADLs).

• Dementia is most common in elderly people; it used to be called senility and was considered a normal part of aging. 
  
  
• We now know that dementia is not a normal part of aging but is caused by a number of underlying medical conditions that can occur in both elderly and younger persons. 
  
  
• In some cases, dementia can be reversed with proper medical treatment. In others, it is permanent and usually gets worse over time.

About 4-5 million people in the United States have some degree of dementia, and that number will increase over the next few decades with the aging of the population.

• Dementia affects about 1% of people aged 60-64 years and as many as 30-50% of people older than 85 years.
  
  
• It is the leading reason for placing elderly people in institutions such as nursing homes.

Dementia is a very serious condition that results in significant financial and human costs.

• Many people with dementia eventually become totally dependent on others for their care. 
  
  
• Although people with dementia typically remain fully conscious, the loss of short- and long-term memory are universal.
  
  
• People with dementia also experience declines in any or all areas of intellectual functioning, for example, use of language and numbers; awareness of what is going on around him or her; judgment; and the ability to reason, solve problems, and think abstractly.
  
  
• These losses not only impair a person's ability to function independently, but also have a negative impact on quality of life and relationships.

Many older people fear that they are developing dementia because they cannot find their glasses or remember someone's name.

• These very common problems are most often due to a much less serious condition involving slowing of mental processes with age. 
  
  
• Medical professionals call this "benign senescent forgetfulness," or "age-related memory loss."  
  
  
• Although this condition is a nuisance, it does not impair a person's ability to learn new information, solve problems, or carry out everyday activities, as dementia does.

Next: Dementia Causes »

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