Dementia, a disease that results in decreased memory and way of thinking

Dementia  is a disease that results in decreased memory and way of thinking. This condition affects the lifestyle, ability to socialize, to the daily activities of the sufferer.

The most common types of dementia are Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Alzheimer's is dementia which is associated with genetic changes and protein changes in the brain. Meanwhile, vascular dementia is a type of dementia due to disorders in the blood vessels of the brain.

Keep in mind, dementia is different from senile. Senile is a change in the ability to think and remember that is commonly experienced as you age. These changes can affect memory, but are insignificant and do not cause a person to depend on others.

Causes of Dementia

Dementia is caused by damage to nerve cells and connections between nerves in the brain. Based on the changes that occur, there are several types of dementia, namely:

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia. The cause of Alzheimer's is still unknown, but genetic changes inherited from parents are thought to increase the risk of this disease. In addition to genetic factors, protein abnormalities in the brain are also thought to damage healthy nerve cells in the brain.

Vascular dementia

Vascular dementia is caused by disorders of blood vessels in the brain. Recurrent stroke is the most common cause of this type of dementia.

Other conditions that cause symptoms of dementia

In addition to Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, there are also other conditions that can cause symptoms of dementia, but are temporary. These conditions include:

• Metabolic or endocrine disorders.
• Multiple sclerosis.
• Subdural hematoma.
• Brain tumor.
• Drug side effects, such as sedatives and pain relievers.
• Lack of certain vitamins and minerals, such as lack of vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin E, and iron in the body.
• Poisoning due to exposure to heavy metals, pesticides, and alcohol consumption.
• Risk Factors
• There are factors that can increase the risk of dementia, namely increasing age, a history of dementia in the family, as well as a bad lifestyle, such as an unhealthy diet, not exercising regularly, smoking, and alcoholism.

In addition, there are several diseases that are also at risk of causing dementia, including: 

• Down syndrome
• Depression
• Sleep apnea
• High cholesterol
• Obesity
• Hypertension
• Diabetes

Symptoms of Dementia

The main symptoms of dementia are memory loss and changes in ways of thinking, so that changes in behavior and speech appear. These symptoms can get worse with time. To be clearer, the following are the stages of symptoms that occur in people with dementia:

Stage 1

At this stage, the ability of the patient's brain function is still in the normal stage, so there are no visible symptoms.

Stage 2

Disorders that occur at this stage have not affected the daily activities of patients. For example, sufferers find it difficult to carry out various activities at one time, it is difficult to make decisions or solve problems, it is easy to forget activities that have not recently been carried out, and difficulty choosing the right words.

Stage 3

At this stage, patients can get lost when passing the usual path, difficulty learning new things, moods appear flat and lack of enthusiasm, as well as changes in personality and decreased ability to socialize.

Stage 4

When entering this stage, sufferers begin to need help from others in carrying out daily activities, such as dressing and bathing. Patients also experience changes in sleep patterns, difficulty in reading and writing, withdrawing from the social environment, hallucinating, irritability, and being rude.

Stage 5

When entered into this stage, a person can be said to experience severe dementia. Dementia at this stage causes patients to not be able to live independently. Sufferers will lose basic abilities, such as walking or sitting, not recognizing family members, and not understanding language.

When to see a doctor

Consultation with a neurologist or psychiatrist should be done if someone has one or more symptoms of dementia, in order to get further examination.

Dementia is often equated with senility in the elderly, because it is both related to memory loss. But if memory loss continues to deteriorate to the point where it is difficult for sufferers to carry out daily activities, dementia checks must be carried out immediately.

An examination by a doctor needs to be done immediately if you experience all or some of the symptoms that are suspected as early symptoms of dementia, including:

• Easy to forget.
• Difficult to learn new things.
• Difficulty concentrating.
• Difficult to remember the time and place.
• Uncertain mood.
• Frequent loss of objects due to misplacing.
• Difficult to find the right words when talking.
• Apathetic or not care about the environment.
• Often repeat the same activity unnoticed.
• Difficult to do activities that are usually done everyday.
• Some diseases, such as diabetes, cholesterol, and hypertension, can increase the risk of dementia. If you suffer from the disease, it is advisable to regularly consult with a doctor to monitor the progress of the disease and get appropriate treatment.

Diagnosis of Dementia

Diagnosis of dementia is quite difficult because the symptoms are similar to other diseases. Therefore, doctors need to do a series of examinations to determine the cause.

As a first step, the doctor will ask about the symptoms experienced by patients to find out how much these symptoms affect daily activities. The doctor will also ask about the patient's medical history and family to find out if there is a family history of dementia.

After that, the doctor will conduct several additional examinations which include: 

1. Nerve examination
2. Nerve tests are performed to assess muscle strength and see body reflexes.
3. Mental examination
4. This examination is carried out using the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) method, a series of questions that will be given a value by the doctor to measure how much cognitive impairment is experienced.
5. Sublime function test

This test aims to measure a person's thinking ability, for example by asking the patient to count backwards from the number 100 or draw a clock hand to indicate a certain time.

Other tests also need to be done if there are other diseases that cause symptoms of dementia, such as stroke, brain tumor, or thyroid disorders. The inspection includes:

• Brain imaging with CT scan, MRI, or PET scan.
• Brain electrical examination with EEG.
• Blood test.

Treatment for dementia

Treatment of dementia aims to help sufferers adapt to their conditions, inhibit symptoms that arise, and avoid complications. The following procedures can be used as a treatment for dementia:

Special Therapy

There are several therapies that can be done to treat symptoms and behaviors that arise due to dementia, namely:

Cognitive stimulation therapy

This therapy aims to stimulate memory, problem solving skills, and language skills, by doing group activities or sports.

Occupational therapy

This therapy aims to teach sufferers how to carry out daily activities safely according to their conditions, and teaches how to control emotions in dealing with the development of symptoms.

Memory therapy

This therapy is useful to help sufferers remember their life history, such as hometown, school period, work, to hobbies.

Cognitive rehabilitation

This therapy aims to train parts of the brain that are not functioning, using parts of the brain that are still healthy.

Family support

In addition to the above therapies, to maintain the quality of life of people with dementia, support from family or relatives is needed. Such support or assistance may include:

• Communicate with sufferers using short, easy-to-understand sentences, accompanied by movements, cues and eye contact.
• Doing sports that can improve strength, balance, and heart health with sufferers.
• Having fun activities with sufferers, such as cooking, gardening, painting, or playing music.
• Creating bedtime habits for sufferers, such as not watching television and turning on home lights.
• Make an agenda or calendar as a tool to remember events and activities that must be done by patients, as well as treatment schedules.
• Make further treatment plans with sufferers, to determine what treatment they must undergo.

Drugs

Some types of drugs commonly used to treat symptoms of dementia are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, memantine, antasetasetas, antipsikotik, and antidepressants.

Operation

Dementia can be treated with surgery if it is caused by a brain tumor, brain injury, or hydrocephalus. Surgery can help restore symptoms if there is no permanent damage to the brain.

Although there are a number of therapies that can be done to treat dementia, most people with dementia do not recover completely. However, treatment must still be done to relieve the symptoms that appear. In addition, complications can also be avoided by proper treatment.

Complications of Dementia

Impaired memory and ways of thinking experienced by people with dementia can cause complications when doing daily activities. The example is:

• Injury when walking alone
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Choking causes pneumonia
• Cannot live independently

Prevention of Dementia

There is no sure way to prevent dementia. However, there are several ways you can do to reduce the risk, such as:

1. Quit smoking.
2. Exercise regularly.
3. Enough sleep.
4. Maintain nutritional intake and adopt a healthy diet, for example by eating foods low in fat and high in fiber. Consumption of vitamins for the brain is also thought to be good for preventing dementia.
5. Reduce alcohol intake.
6. Maintain ideal body weight.
7. Train the brain regularly, like diligently reading or playing crosswords.
8. Routinely controlling blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and cholesterol.
9. Consult a doctor immediately if you experience stress, depression, or anxiety disorders.

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