What is Dementia?

What is Dementia?

Dementia: - is the accelerated death of brain cells caused by disease.

It affects a person’s ability to REASON, SPEAK, THINK, REMEMBER and make DECISIONS.

Dementia is DEGENERATIVE

Many Carers have said they experience unusual/unpredictable behaviour.  So-called ‘problem behaviour’ is nearly always an attempt to communicate feelings, needs and wishes by the individual.
Rather than trying to stop or challenge the behaviour, try to work out what it means.

The term 'dementia' is used to describe the symptoms that occur when the brain is affected by specific diseases and conditions.  The most common diagnoses are Alzheimer's disease and Vascular dementia.  There are many other rarer conditions.

Common types of dementia:

Alzheimer's disease = 50% of all diagnoses

This is the most common cause of dementia. During the course of the disease, the chemistry and structure of the brain changes, leading to the death of brain cells.

Vascular disease = 20% of all diagnoses 

If the oxygen supply to the brain fails, brain cells may die. The symptoms of vascular dementia can occur either suddenly, following a stroke, or over time, through a series of small strokes.