What Is Dementia?
Dementia is a term for a set of symptoms linked to different conditions that affect the brain. Early symptoms of dementia include mild memory loss and confusion. However, later stages of dementia cause severe memory loss, confusion, and reduced ability to perform everyday activities.
Alzheimer’s disease is a common form of dementia, but experts also recognise several other forms of dementia, including the following:
- Frontotemporal dementia
- Vascular dementia
- Mixed dementia
- Lewy body dementia
Each of the conditions has different symptoms and requires specific treatments. For example, frontotemporal dementia damages the frontal and temporal lobes, leading to behaviour changes in the early stage and memory decline in the later ones.
What Is Alzheimer’s?
Around 60-80% of people with dementia have Alzheimer’s disease, which makes this condition the most common cause of dementia.
Alzheimer’s usually affects people above the age of 65. It is a progressive condition that causes gradual nerve cell loss and cognitive decline. Dementia caused by Alzheimer’s starts with the buildup of protein plaques and tangles around the person’s brain cells, leading to the blockage of nerve signals.
The first signs of Alzheimer’s disease are mild and usually do not prevent the person from engaging in daily tasks independently. This is known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and the symptoms in this stage can be mistakenly linked to other conditions. As the condition progresses, Alzheimer’s disease causes more severe symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions.
Similar Symptoms for Alzheimer’s and Dementia
The initial signs of Alzheimer’s disease and most other types of dementia involve short-term memory loss, mood changes, and personality changes.
The person may experience difficulty remembering recent events, unusual irritability, and decreased interest in their favourite hobbies.
Symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease tend to worsen gradually, impacting the person’s ability to live independently and partake safely in daily activities.
Most Alzheimer’s and dementia symptoms can be classified into three main categories:
- Memory, speech, and language challenges – forgetfulness, confusion, repeating questions, struggling to come up with the right word in conversations
- Difficulty safely partaking in daily activities – getting lost in familiar places, decreased safety due to memory loss
- Behavioural changes and emotional challenges – low mood, social withdrawal, restlessness, and sleep issues
Common Causes of Dementia
Age is one of the primary risk factors for dementia, with the majority of individuals being above 65 years of age. This condition occurs due to brain changes that damage the nerve cells’ ability to transmit information. Many neurological challenges can cause dementia, including:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- Huntington’s disease
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Each cause of dementia affects a different group of brain cells and results in a specific set of symptoms.
Common Causes of Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease accounts for around 60 to 80 per cents of all dementia cases worldwide, which makes it the most common cause of dementia.
After extensive research on the complex causes of Alzheimer’s disease, experts have discovered that the central part of developing this condition is the abnormal buildup of two proteins inside the brain.
The Alzheimer’s disease process starts with the formation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles. These structures impact the brain’s functioning and disrupt the connection between neurons. As the condition progresses, certain areas of the brain shrink significantly, causing the reduction of chemicals required to send messages across the brain.
Not all people with Alzheimer’s disease have a family history of Alzheimer’s, but genetic predisposition may increase the risk of developing this condition.
Other risk factors include the following:
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Smoking
- Traumatic brain injury
- Depression
- Down’s syndrome
- Poor dietary habits
- Low levels of physical activity
- Alcohol and drug abuse
What’s the Difference?
Scientists discovered both Alzheimer’s disease and dementia more than a century ago. However, these two terms are still often used interchangeably. Distinguishing the two diagnoses is the first step towards helping individuals manage symptoms and lead fulfilling lives.
To put it simply, dementia is a broader diagnosis of symptoms caused by several brain conditions, one of which is Alzheimer’s.
With more than half of dementia cases linked to Alzheimer’s, this condition is considered the most common type of dementia. However, there are several other forms of cognitive decline. The second most common type of dementia is vascular dementia. It is caused by decreased blood flow to the brain due to high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.
Other types of this condition include frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Furthermore, a person can have more than one form of dementia, i.e. mixed dementia.
Proper assessment and diagnosis allow the person to access compassionate medical treatment and emotional support.
Treatment
There is no cure for Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. However, professional care services help people with dementia take control of their symptoms and prevent their condition from worsening.
There is a wide overlap between available treatments for Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. Besides medications specific to these conditions, doctors may prescribe or recommend:
- Antidepressants
- Sleep medication
- Antipsychotic medication
- Sleep changes
- CBT
- Life story work
- Treating a B12 deficiency
- Stopping the use of alcohol and drugs
- Blood sugar medication
If possible, the person should keep an active social life with regular exercise, enjoyable activities, and integration within the local community.
Professionals and primary caregivers can take several measures to enable a comfortable care journey for individuals with dementia, such as:
- Offering reassurance and emotional support
- Providing a comfortable, calming, and quiet environment
- Making sure the person sticks to a healthy and nutritious diet
- Accompanying the individual on a walk or using alarm systems and tracking devices to prevent them from getting lost
- Establishing a balanced daily routine
- Encouraging the individual to nurture their hobbies and engage in meaningful activities, such as music or dancing
- Providing access to tailored therapeutic services, such as physical therapy, animal-assisted therapy, music therapy, and massage
- Giving the person fidget toys or other objects to occupy their hands in case of restlessness
Impact of Home Care
Transferring a person with dementia or Alzheimer’s to a nursing home is stressful for the whole family. This is why more and more people with cognitive decline and their families turn to home care services.
At-home care providers help the individual to manage symptoms of dementia in their own homes. This way, people with dementia get professional support from a trained clinician while retaining their tenancy and staying close to their loved ones.
Home care providers follow personalised support plans for every individual they serve, prioritising the person’s specific needs, preferences, and boundaries. By receiving tailored care in their familiar surroundings, individuals with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia can live as independently as possible and nurture their relationships with their family and friends.
As the condition approaches its final stages, people with dementia and their families can find comfort in end-of-life home care services, including hospice and palliative care.
How Individuals Can Benefit from Unique Community Services
At Unique Community Services, we provide complex care support for individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, tailored to their unique needs.
Our proactive clinicians aim to help individuals live independently and actively participate in the local community. Our utmost priority is creating a respectful and dignified environment for each person we serve.
We understand the drastic effects that dementia and Alzheimer’s disease can have on the person and their whole family, as well as the stress linked to the admission of a loved one to a residential home. Therefore, we deliver high-standard, CQC-regulated dementia and Alzheimer’s care services at home, allowing individuals to stay close to their family and friends.
Our clinicians prioritise the individual’s needs, preferences, and boundaries. We are always open to adapting our care plan to your requirements.
If you are looking for a quality home care provider, Unique Community Services is the right place for you. We deliver at-home care services in Bristol and Manchester.
Contact us now, and we will create a personalised support plan catering to your specific needs.
