Dementia Causes and Risk factors

  • Dementia
    is a broad term for a range of conditions that involve loss of mental ability and so cause problems with memory, language, behaviour and emotions. Dementia is most common in the elderly. Around five percent of people over the age of 65 are affected to some extent.  According to Alzheimer’s Disease International with increasing life expectancy, this is expected to surge to 75.6 million in 2030. Disease awareness and understanding is a huge challenge  
Submitted by PatientsEngage on 19 September 2015

What causes Dementia

The most common cause is Alzheimer's disease, which accounts for up to 60% of all cases. Alzheimer's disease is caused by the destruction of certain brain cells leading to the loss of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Vascular dementia, which occurs after a stroke, is the second most common dementia type. But there are many other conditions that can cause symptoms of dementia, such as thyroid problems and vitamin B complex deficiencies. Dementia can also be caused by excessive alcohol intake.

Are you at risk of developing Dementia

Risk factors include:

• Increasing age: As you age, the risks of Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia and several other dementias greatly increase, especially after the age of 65. However, dementia isn't a normal part of ageing, and dementia can occur in younger people.

• Positive family history: If you have a family history of dementia, your risk goes up by approximately 20-25%. It can be an inherited condition and the gene responsible is the amyloid precursor protein gene (APP)

• Poorly managed high blood pressure

• Brain injury

• Brain tumours

• High cholesterol

• Atherosclerosis: This build-up of fats and other substances in and on your artery walls (plaques) can reduce blood flow to your brain and lead to stroke. Reduced blood flow to your brain can cause vascular dementia. Some research shows there may be an association between blood vessel (vascular) conditions and Alzheimer's disease.

• Diabetes

• Smoking

• Poor diet 

• Excessive alcohol intake

• Vitamin B 12 deficiency

• Down syndrome: By middle age, many people with Down syndrome develop the plaques and tangles in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer's disease. Some may develop dementia.

Community
Alzheimer's and Dementia
Condition
Dementia
Changed
Wed, 07/26/2017 - 13:22

Stories

  • I paint to my heart's content and refresh my mind to start each challenging day anew
    Mrs Gowri shares her experience as a caregiver of her mother with Dementia   I care for my mother, a soft natured but strong willed woman, who had worked for 35 years. Post retirement, a freak accident while gardening, which we now believe could have been caused by a mild stroke, reduced her mobility and slowly led to the degeneration of the brain cells. Normally very quiet and uncomplaining, she had begun to lose her alacrity. Without any of us being aware of the symptoms, like difficulty…
  • Still Alice: A Review from an Alzheimer’s CareGiver
    A review of "Still Alice" by Ekta Hattangady, from India who was 13 when her mother was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's at 43. Ekta became her Primary Caregiver at the age of 16. My final verdict would be…it’s a great movie. It’s not reality. Not every person with Alzheimer’s would be like this…some may be a lot worse…especially in the case of Early Onset Dementia.  Everything you saw in this movie, multiply it by 10,000 times and then you may be somewhere close to what it is like…
  • Common anticholinergic drugs like Benadryl, Nytol linked to increased dementia risk
    Nytol, Benadryl, Ditropan and Piriton among the medications identified by scientists as raising likelihood of dementia A report published online this week in JAMA Internal Medicine offers compelling evidence of a link between long-term use of anticholinergic medications like Benadryl and dementia. Anticholinergic drugs block the action of acetylcholine. This substance transmits messages in the nervous system. In the brain, acetylcholine is involved in learning and memory. In the…
  • From Robin Williams to My Father, Understanding Lewy Body Dementia
    Remember that you don't have to do any of this alone. - Kuntal Joisher Recently, it came to light that a significant underlying factor to Williams' decision to end his lifemay have been the fact that Williams was believed to have been suffering from Lewy Body Dementia. This recent discovery has put the spotlight firmly on Lewy Body Dementia or LBD, a disease that often goes undiagnosed in those afflicted with the condition. Lewy Body Dementia is the most misdiagnosed form of dementia. LBD…
  • She lives in the present, forgets the past and can’t think of the future, so I try to be that way too
    She reduced her mother's medications to a minimum. Side effects may have also played a role in Asayo’s agitation and violence, said Steve Iliffe, professor of Primary Care for Old People at University College London. She let her mother walk.. “Walking is therapeutic and helps reduce disturbed behavior and sleep,” he said. “Letting her wander saved us and made us happy,” Akiko said. “It was unbelievably disturbing and stressful to keep my mom in the house.” Wandering alone, though,…
  • Its ok to cry and laugh, to take time out for yourself
    This touching and poignant documentary – “Portraits of Care” –  looks at the lives of four amazing Caregivers and gives a rare glimpse into the realities of long-term care in India. A husband as caregiver, a wife as caregiver, daughters as caregivers Issues with home care agencies, dealing with absent and interfering relatives, caregiver stress and the financial challenges How to take time out for yourself, how to deal with your anger and frustration Celebrate the little…
  • Old photos helping trigger memories in people with dementia
    Pictures taken by a little-known photographer between the 1930s and 1960s have found a new use helping to trigger memories and reminiscences among people with dementia. "In the dementia care world reminiscence is up there as one of the leading groups of therapeutic approaches," explains Prof Bob Woods, an expert in the clinical psychology of older people at Bangor University. "Essentially it's a good way of facilitating communication, and so it helps people to feel more socially integrated and…
  • Simple test can help detect Alzheimer's before dementia signs show, study shows
    York University researchers say a simple test that combines thinking and movement can help to detect heightened risk for developing Alzheimer's disease in a person, even before there are any telltale behavioural signs of dementia. "We included a task which involved moving a computer mouse in the opposite direction of a visual target on the screen, requiring the person's brain to think before and during their hand movements," says Sergio in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science. "This…
  • A Marriage to Remember - a filmmaker explores how Alzheimer’s disease has revealed the strength of his parents’ marriage
     "The experience of caring for someone with Alzheimer's can be incredibly isolating, at a time when you need support the most. We are grateful that this process has helped us come together as a family and as a community to celebrate that most precious gift of all : our memories"   http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/26/opinion/a-marriage-to-remember.html?emc=edit_th_20140826&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=53809129&_r=0    
  • Extended use of sleeping pills linked to Alzheimer's
    Taking the drugs known as benzodiazepines, which include diazepam and lorazepam, for three months or more was linked with a greater chance of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease five years later. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/11083674/Sleeping-pills-ta… For our community's tips on sleeping please check out http://www.patientsengage.com/?q=discussions/are-you-sleeping-well-what-works-you