Dementia

Dementia

is not a single disease name; it is the general name given to all diseases that go with the impairment of memory and similar mental abilities. All of these diseases cause some changes in the brain and reveal the specific findings of the diseases. Dementia diseases are not an expected and absolute condition of the aging brain. Alzheimer's disease accounts for more than 60% of all dementias. Vascular dementia, which occurs after a stroke, is the second most common type of dementia. While some diseases diagnosed as dementia do not have a definitive treatment and make it impossible to return to their old state (such as Alzheimer’s) are diseases, some of which can be cured with treatment (such as thyroid diseases, vitamin deficiency).  Some of the diseases that are tried to be expressed with the definition of dementia are as follows

Alzheimer's disease

Vascular dementia

Parkinson's disease-related dementia

Dementia with Lewy bodies

Frontotemporal dementia

Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease

Normal pressure hydrocephalus

Huntington's disease

Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome

Tumor

meningitis

syphilis

AIDS

Vitamin deficiencies (B12, B1, B6 deficiencies)

Hormone diseases (thyroid gland diseases, diabetes, adrenal gland diseases…)

Blood diseases (Anemia)

Difference Between Alzheimer's and Dementia

Dementia is not a single disease name; it is the general name given to all diseases that go with the impairment of memory and similar mental abilities. All of these diseases cause some changes in the brain and reveal the specific findings of the diseases.

Dementia diseases can start with very different symptoms, and in the later stages of each disease, there may be similar signs and symptoms. In order to diagnose a patient with one of the dementia diseases, at least two of the following core (disease-specific) findings must be present in the patient.

memory impairment

language (speech) disorder

attention disorder

Difficulty deciding on a situation or issue

visual perception disorder

The most common type of memory disorder is recent memory defect, which is defined as the inability to remember the most recently learned and experienced information. The person forgets what he ate in the evening, today's date, to change the money he gave for the money he bought, to make appointments, to close the bottom of the food, to take out the key on the door.

The vast majority of dementia diseases are progressive and there is a slow worsening period after the onset of symptoms and signs. In this period, going to the doctor and having an appropriate examination and evaluation period are of great importance in terms of the diagnosis of diseases and the treatment approach that is thought to be unique to each disease.