Ask Your Pharmacist – Dementia Part I
A CAPSULAR MOMENT
What is Dementia?
Dementia (senility) is a term used to describe a group of symptoms which results from a loss of brain function due to disorders affecting the brain. It is not by itself a specific disease but can be as a result of different diseases.
It is a fact of life that mental abilities decline with age, even without dementia or other neurological conditions that affect brain functioning. Just as an old computer starts to lose processing speed, the same thing happens to the brain. Researchers have found that 15 years prior to death the ability and speed of processing information and sense of awareness start to wane, also 8 to 6 years before death, ability to follow directions correctly while driving or walking and ability to speak and understand also diminishes.
Causes of Dementia
Dementia has many different causes which may be difficult to tell apart and they include various disease, infection, strokes, head injuries, drugs and nutritional deficiencies. Most types of dementia are non-reversible (degenerative), which means the changes in the brain that are causing the dementia cannot be stopped or reversed. Some causes of dementia can be stopped or reversed if they are discovered soon enough.
Irreversible Causes of Dementia
- Alzheimer’s disease: This is the most common form of dementia and accounts for about half of dementia cases. It has no cure and is progressive, eventually leading to death. It is partly hereditary and most often diagnosed in people over 65 years of age. With this disease, abnormal protein deposits in the brain destroy cells in the areas of the brain that control memory and mental function.
- Small strokes: another name for this is vascular dementia and ranks second to Alzheimer’s disease as common cause of dementia. Vascular dementia is caused by chronic, reduced blood flow to the brain a result of atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries in the brain. As a result of disrupted oxygenated blood flow to the brain due to diseased blood vessel supplying the brain, there is a progressive decline in memory and cognitive function. If blood supply to the brain is blocked for longer than a few seconds, brain cells can die, causing damage to the cortex of the brain ( area associated with learning, memory, and language)
- Parkinson disease: People with this disease initially present with symptoms like tremor, limb stiffness and speech problems. Later cognitive and behavioural problems may arise, with dementia commonly occurring in the advanced stages of the disease. It is worthy to note that not everyone with Parkinson disease has dementia.
- Huntington disease: This is a genetic disorder passed down through families. It causes wasting of certain types of brain cells that control movement as well as thinking. Memory, reasoning, speech, and judgement may be affected.
Other forms of irreversible dementia include:
- lewy body dementia,
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
- Pick disease
Treatable Causes of Dementia
The dementia in these conditions may be reversible or partially reversible and they include
- Chronic drug abuse
- Head injury: this refers to brain damage from accidents such as falls, motorcycle accidents, gunshot wounds or sports injuries like hockey or boxing.
- Normal pressure hydrocephalus: this is a situation where too much cerebrospinal fluid collects outside the brain raising the fluid pressure inside the skull and compressing the brain tissue from outside.
- Brain tumours: can press on brain cells causing damage.
- Metabolic disorders: diseases of the liver , pancreas or kidneys can lead to dementia
- Hypoglycaemia : a condition that is caused by low blood sugar
- Nutritional deficiencies: Deficiencies of certain nutrients, especially B vitamins can cause dementia
- Hypoxia: or Poor oxygenation is a condition caused by not having enough oxygen in the blood. Dementia may result from hypoxia because blood is responsible for bringing oxygen to the brain cells and brain cells need oxygen to live. The most common causes of hypoxia are lung disease such as emphysema or pneumonia. Cigarette smoking is a frequent cause of emphysema. It can worsen brain damage by damaging the lungs and increasing the levels of carbon monoxide in the blood.
- Exposure to toxins: People who work around solvents or heavy metal dust and fumes without adequate protective equipment may develop dementia from the damage these substances can cause to brain cells.
Next time we will address symptoms of dementia and ways to stave it off.
MORE INFORMATION
- View past issues of Ask Your Pharmacist by David Bodunde RPh by CLICKING HERE
- To speak with David Bodunde, Rph in person, visit the Manitouwadge Pharmacy, Unit 2, Hallmarket Square in Manitouwadge or call 826.3888
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