Discover what Dementia is. Research it biologically; understand how it affects the brain, what causes it, and what the prevalence is in Australia.
What is Dementia?
Dementia is a general term to describe problems with memory and thinking (Alzheimer’s Association, 2004). Dementia is as not a disorder or a disease in its own right, but is a syndrome or grouping of symptoms, which cause a progressive decline in a person’s mental functioning (Jorm, 1987). It is a broad term that describes a loss of signs of memory, intellect, social skills, decision-making and emotional reactions. Dementia affects cortical functioning (the metal processes carried out by the cortex), and produces a lack of alertness and awareness of what is happening in the sufferer. Most forms of Dementia are irreversible and there is at the present, no cure for them (Barlow and Durand, 2002).
There are more than 70 diseases that cause Dementia. Among the many diseases that can produce the syndrome of Dementia is: Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Pick’s Disease, depression and even AIDS. Among the elderly, the most common diseases that result in Dementia are Alzheimer’s Disease (accounting for between 50 and 70% of all cases), Multi-Infarct Dementia, Pick’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease.
How does Dementia affect the brain?
Dementia has various biological causes, depending on the Disease that is causing Dementia (Barlow and Durand, 2002). I will look particularly at the biological effects of Alzheimer’s Disease, Pick’s Disease and Vascular Dementia.
Alzheimer’s Disease:
The German Physician, Alois Alzheimer in 1907 discovered two abnormalities within the brain, and the disease is now named after him, Alzheimer’s Disease (Jorm, 1987).