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Dementia

Home > Illnesses and Disabilities Home > Types of Illnesses & Disabilities > Dementia

Dementia is not a specific disease but a word for a group of symptoms caused by certain brain disorders. These disorders may cause nerve cells in your brain to stop working, lose their connections with other nerve cells, and die. Signs of dementia may include:

• memory loss
• problems carrying out normal daily activities, such as not remembering to take your medicines
• getting lost in familiar places
• changes in personality, such as becoming short-tempered and hostile
• delusions, such as thinking that someone is stealing from you when they are not
• losing the ability to recognize family members
• losing the ability to speak

While memory loss is a common sign of dementia, memory loss by itself does not mean that you have dementia. Doctors diagnose you as having dementia only if you have severe problems with two or more brain functions, such as memory and reasoning.

Older people with dementia were once called senile, and it was thought that becoming senile was just part of getting old. But dementia is not a part of normal aging. Many people live into their 90s and even 100s without any signs of dementia.

It is important to find out the cause of a person's dementia. Some causes of dementia can be treated and sometimes cured. Others are due to permanent changes in your brain and cannot be cured.

Treatable conditions that can cause dementia include a high fever, dehydration, vitamin deficiency or poor nutrition, bad reactions to medicines, or a minor head injury. Medical conditions like these can be serious and should be treated by a doctor as soon as possible.

The most common cause of permanent dementia is Alzheimer's disease (AD). The second most common cause of irreversible dementia is vascular dementia. It is caused by brain damage due to reduced blood flow in your brain. Symptoms of vascular dementia often begin suddenly, such as after a stroke. In contrast, symptoms of dementia due to AD come on slowly over a period of 7 to 10 years.

The elderly and those with family histories of dementia are at higher risk for dementia. More women than men have dementia because women in general live longer than men. How to best care for people with dementia and support caregivers is an area of intense research and public health interest.

Additional Resources

Publications

1.   Dementia With Lewy Bodies Information Page — This online publication gives information on dementia with Lewy bodies. It explains what it is, how it can be controlled, and what research is being done to further understand the disease.

   http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/dementiawithlewybodies/dementiawithlewybodies.htm...

2.   Dementia: Hope Through Research — This brochure provides information about dementia. It includes the different types of dementia, other conditions that can cause dementia, treatment options, and the latest research that is being conducted for dementia.

   http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/alzheimersdisease/detail_alzheimersdisease.htm...

3.   NINDS Alzheimer's Disease Information Page — This online publication offers information about Alzheimer's disease. It reviews treatment, prognosis, resources, and the latest research being done.

   http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/alzheimersdisease/alzheimersdisease.htm

4.   NINDS Frontotemporal Dementia Information Page — This online publication explains frontotemporal dementia, once known as Pick’s disease. It reviews treatment, prognosis, research, and resources on Pick’s disease.

   http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/picks_doc.htm

5.   NINDS Multi-Infarct Dementia Information Page — This online publication reviews treatment, prognosis, research, and resources on multi-infarct dementia (MID), a common cause of dementia in older people.

   http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/multi-infarctdementia_doc.htm...

6. AIDS Dementia Complex (Copyright © Project Inform) — This publication explains what AIDS dementia complex (ADC) is, including detailed descriptions of the symptoms it causes in its different stages. It describes how HIV is thought to cause ADC and how doctors diagnose and treat ADC and its symptoms.

   http://www.projectinform.org/info/adc/index.shtml

7. Dementia – Is This Dementia and What Does It Mean? (Copyright © Family Caregiver Alliance) — This in-depth fact sheet describes the symptoms of dementia, offers suggestions for caregivers, and links to a number of useful resources about dementia.

   http://www.caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/content_node.jsp?nodeid=569

8. Dementia: Info and Advice for Caregivers (Copyright © American Academy of Family Physicians) — This fact sheet provides information on dementia, behavioral problems common with this condition, and how to care for someone with dementia.

   http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/seniors/mental-health/585.html

9. Multi-Infarct Dementia (Copyright © Mental Health America) — This fact sheet provides information on the causes, symptoms, and treatment of multi-infarct dementia: the second most common cause of dementia in older people after Alzheimer’s disease.

   http://mentalhealthamerica.net/go/information/get-info/older-adults/multi-infarct-dementia...

10. Vascular Dementia (Copyright © Mayo Foundation) — This fact sheet provides information specific to vascular dementia, including symptoms, treatment, risk factors, and tips for prevention.

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vascular-dementia/DS00934/METHOD=print

Organizations

1.   Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral Center, NIA, NIH, HHS
2.   National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, HHS
3.   National Institute on Aging, NIH, HHS
4. Alzheimer's Association
5. American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

= Indicates Federal Resources

Content last updated May 15, 2008.