Dementia Treatment

  • 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

Dementia generally gets worse with age but the development of symptoms can often be slowed with drugs or other treatments. Treatment of dementia usually aims to improve memory and concentration, reduce psychiatric problems, and improve the quality of life for both the patient and their family.

Improving memory and concentration: The memory difficulties seen in Alzheimer's disease can be relieved for a short time in some people with drugs that prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine in the brain. These drugs are called 'cholinesterase inhibitors' and are thought to work by increasing the levels of acetylcholine in the synapses. Examples include Donepezil (Aricept), Rivastigmine (Exelon) and Galantamine (Reminyl). They can improve memory as well as slow down some of the changes in personality and mood. To treat vascular dementia, the risk factors that led to vascular dementia, such as high blood pressure or diabetes should be controlled followed by physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy. 

Medication for Lewy Body Dementia includes cholinesterase inhibitors, such as Donepezil and Rivastigmine to treat the cognitive symptoms. They can also be effective in treating visual hallucinations and other psychiatric symptoms. 

To treat Frontal Lobe Dementia, anti-psychotics like anti-depressants are used along with speech therapy.

Reducing psychiatric problems : The depression associated with dementia can be alleviated with anti-depressants.

Related reading: http://www.patientsengage.com/conditions/dementia/types-stages

Community
Alzheimer's and Dementia
Condition
Dementia
Changed
Wed, 07/26/2017 - 14:44

Stories

  • How to cope when your Spouse has Dementia
    Amrita Patil Pimpale, Dementia Care Consultant, lists out 5 things you can do to help your spouse/partner who has been recently diagnosed with dementia. Most people with dementia undergo behavioral changes during the course of the disease. They gradually lose their mental faculties and become confused and vulnerable. They tend to forget things that have happened quite recently, but may seem to have clear memory of things that happened a long time ago. They will experience mood changes, can…
  • My Mother’s Hairdresser: Dementia friendly or not?
    A touching account of how a local hairdresser volunteered to help, when others refused, to give my mother, who lived with Young Onset Alzheimer's, a glam haircut and made her look uber cool in her final years.   They say it takes a village to raise a child. As caregivers, we realize that it takes an entire community to deal with Alzheimer’s. Extended family members, friends, neighbors, healthcare professionals, coworkers, employers, employees, service providers like household help,…
  • 5 Challenges of Dementia Care in Gujarat
    Dementia is difficult. Absence of diagnosis, counselling and support makes matters worse. Basic awareness and services can help decrease caregiver stress. Daksha Bhat of Varishta analyses the situation on dementia care in Gujarat. Dementia may start as a slow, creeping change that gradually makes its inroads into our lives. It can happen to anybody who is over 60. Beginning with a gradual decline in the capacity to recall important things, it gradually manifests as a slow deterioration in the…
  • Speech and Hearing Disorders in an Aging Population
    Dr S.P. Goswami, Professor of Speech Pathology at Mysore counsels that with the right kind of support, the load of the communication disorder can be shared equally by the aged individual as well as the family, the key to it being to meet them halfway. Aging is a phenomenon which starts from birth and brings about changes in the individual across the life span. However, beyond the yardstick of 60 years, anatomical and physiological changes become highly evident in the human body, thereby leading…
  • People with dementia should continue to live with respect and dignity in the community
    Jason Foo, the CEO of ADA (Alzheimer’s Disease Association), Singapore, shares his views on the rising levels of the disease, how personalised treatment can help and also how spreading awareness can remove the existing stigma. What are the possible reasons for increase in Young onset dementia? (Is there a difference between Young onset dementia and early onset dementia?) Young Onset Dementia (YOD) and Early Onset Dementia (EOD) refer to the same condition which is dementia affecting people…
  • What Caregivers Of Persons With Dementia Must Understand For More Effective Care
    Dementia care is difficult. Caregivers have to be persistent and creative to make the ongoing adjustments required. Swapna Kishore discusses some important aspects that caregivers must understand and accept, and offers some tips to cope better. It is often assumed that family caregivers will be able to support their loved ones after dementia care is explained to them. But hearing about dementia symptoms or communication methods in a classroom is not enough to make family caregivers give better…
  • Why do we need Dementia Friendly Communities
    Dr. Sridhar Vaitheswaran explains how supporting a person with dementia effectively in a dementia friendly community can improve not only their wellbeing but also improve caregiver satisfaction, decrease burden and contribute to the society’s progress.  The story of Mr Arun Mr Arun is a seventy-year old retired government employee. He lives with his wife, son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren in Chennai. He helps with the chores such as shopping and paying bills. He also visits a…
  • Empathy will bring out Best Care for Person with Dementia
    Amrita Patil Pimpale, a qualified Dementia Care Trainer and Founder of Echoing Healthy Ageing, a social enterprise working in Dementia care sector, provides consultation and training for families and healthcare professionals in order to sensitize them to care for elderly with dementia. Here she advocates methods on how to improve quality of life for dementia patients and their caregivers. As a dementia caregiver consultant, what are the tips and advice that you give caregivers to facilitate…
  • Remember Me - The Unheard Cry for Help
    Every three seconds one person in the world develops dementia. Dr Amit Dias, an epidemiologist and geriatrician who is one of the leaders of  the dementia awareness movement in India, throws light on ADI’s ‘Remember Me’ campaign as the World observes the Alzheimer’s Awareness month in September. What does the ‘Remember Me’ campaign mean to you? ‘Remember Me’ is a global campaign initiated by Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI), UK that reminds me that I need to step up my efforts…
  • An elderly person on a wheelchair looking out to the lake with a male caregiver standing next to him
    20 Tips For Handling Hospital Stays and Medical Emergencies
    Sangeeta is a blogger who instills rare insight into her role of a caregiver. She not only chronicles the various methods which work for her father, who has Parkinson's, Dementia and Diplopia, but she backs it up with profound logic and common sense. The best part of her blog is her all-pervading humour which gives such a bitter sweet taste to her snippets of caregiving. Here are her top tips for handling medical emergencies and hospital stays.  My father  Anna was in a hospital for…