Overview of Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, and Memory Loss
Caring for a person with dementia Alzheimer’s disease or dementia (Alzheimer’s disease or dementia) at home is a difficult task and can become overwhelming at times.
Dementia is associated with more than 50 different disorders. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, which affects about 10 percent of individuals over age 65.
Other diseases that may result in dementia include multiple strokes, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and more. It’s important to note that these other conditions do not always result in dementia.
Dementia is not a normal part of aging. It results from a disease process.
Dementia and memory loss can affect several areas of a person’s life, making it difficult to function as usual. Some of these areas include:
* Concentration |
* Thinking |
* Judgment |
* Memory |
* Behavior |
* Language |
Dementia affects the lives of many different people, including the individual with dementia and his or her family members. It can result in significant financial and emotional strain.
Although there is no cure for dementia, caregivers can learn skills to manage the behavioral and emotional symptoms associated with it. Learning skills allows caregivers to feel more in control of their life circumstances.
Each individual’s experience and expression of dementia is different, because different areas of the brain are affected depending on the type of dementia. Common difficulties include problems with learning, attention, memory, reasoning ability, language, locating objects in three dimensional space using sight or touch, movement, behavior, and emotions.
Some people find it helpful to classify dementia into different stages of progression over time. However, it’s important to know that each person with dementia is unique.
Although dementia is very serious and there is no known cure for it, there is hope. Research is being done all over the world. New treatments slow the progression of dementia. We also know much more than in years past on how to help people cope with dementia and to help their families cope better. And someday, we hope there will be a cure.
Alzheimer's Assn.