Yes a person, mostly elderly suffering from gross memory
loss could be suffering from dementia.
What is dementia? Medically, it is loss of cognitive
functions in clear consciousness. Cognitive functions are attention concentration,
memory recent remote and immediate, abstraction, judgment and mathematical
ability.
Symptoms of dementia
How can a person judge that a patient is having
dementia? The regular daily activities of the patient will give an idea of this
problem. The patient is usually elderly above 65 years of age with gross loss
of memory. It would be such that the patient will not even remember the names
of children, forget about the meals, forget paths in house, forgot how to brush
their teeth.
The patient might feel agitated due to loss of daily
functions and can turn aggressive.
Additional symptoms associated with dementia are-
1. Depression
2. Psychosis
3. OCD
4. Bipolardisorder
Causes
of dementia- dementia is known to occur due to
deficient in neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
Types
of dementia
Alzheimer’s dementia
Vascular dementia
Lewy body dementia
Fronto-temporal dementia
Subcortical dementia
There
may be reversible causes of dementia-
1. Tumors
2. Infections
3. Hypothyroidism
4. Normal
pressure hydrocephalus
Treatment of dementia
Reversible causes of dementia can be treated by treating
the underlying cause.
Other causes of dementia like Alzheimer’s vascular
dementia can be prevented from progressing or at most reverted little but full
cure is impossible.
Drugs
used in treatment of dementia
1. Tacrine
2. Donepezil
3. Rivastigmine
4. Galantamine
5. Mementine
Other associated symptoms of dementia should be treated
respectively
Non medicinal treatment includes
Re-training the elderly in small tasks, like brushing
their teeth, in broken steps. Not frequently changing the environment around
them so that they remember their things.
Providing nursing care for patients who cannot take care of
themselves is a must.
Wishing you a
healthy and long life
Dr Hitesh Sharma
MBBS, MD (Psychiatry)
For asking a query or phone/video consultation with me visit- https://www.icliniq.com/hitesh
For asking a query or phone/video consultation with me visit- https://www.icliniq.com/hitesh
