Photo: © Global Look Press/imago stock&people
Photo: © Global Look Press/imago stock&people
Dementia is a collective group of diseases that are characterized by memory loss and impaired cognitive function. There are a lot of reasons for its development, while the disease does not develop in all people – it depends on genetics and concomitant diseases.
The first sign of dementia is a change in a person’s personality traits. However, few of the patient’s environment can correctly interpret them. How to determine the appearance of dementia in time, for what reasons the disease occurs and whether it is possible to slow down its development, we tell in the material REN TV.
What is dementia and what causes it
Dementia is a collective group of diseases that alter perception, thinking, memory and ultimately make a person unable to carry out daily activities and communicate. This definition was given by Anna Goncharova, doctor of medical sciences, doctor of the highest category.
“In fact, dementia is a terrible condition, because it does not affect the person himself (the person himself does not understand and does not feel that he is changing as a person), but the family circle and close circle of friends, which often marks the initial changes, but due to misunderstandings of the painful origin of personality changes are offended, they reject a person, they try to re-educate him”– explained in an interview with REN TV doctor.
According to Goncharova, not all people develop dementia. This is largely due to either genetics or concomitant diseases that impair the quality of thought processes.
“There are a lot of reasons for dementia. First of all, these are vascular degenerative disorders, diabetic encephalopathy, post-traumatic changes in the brain, a large group of neurological diseases. Of the most commonplace, this is a long-term deficiency of vitamin D12 and high levels of homocysteine”said the specialist.
Dementia Risks
Oral diseases can increase the risk of developing dementia in older age. Head of the Dental Department of the Russian Gerontological Scientific and Clinical Center of the Russian National Research Medical University. N.I. Pirogova of the Ministry of Health of Russia, dentist-therapist of the highest category Natalya Khvatova explained that tooth loss at this age increases the risk of developing dementia by 13% and causes a decrease in mental abilities by 23%.
According to the expert, this is due to the fact that due to chewing disorders, food is less digested and the body receives fewer nutrients.
In addition, the risk of rapid development of dementia appears with loss of vision. In this case, according to neurologist Pavel Khoroshev, a person develops macular atrophy – the visual canal fails within three to five years, and the person begins to go blind.
“In this case, dementia develops rapidly. Intelligence, especially if a person is sitting at home alone and there is no normal nurse, decreases very quickly. A person is not used to this since childhood, like many blind people. He cannot compensate for receiving information through other channels, and dementia can develop at an alarming ratethe specialist warned.
Also, dementia is accelerated after injury, as a result of Alzheimer’s disease, chemical poisoning, or vascular damage.
The first signs of dementia
According to doctor Anna Goncharova, the first sign of dementia is a change in a person’s personality traits.
“Caring develops into obsession, anxiety becomes fear, humor turns into sarcasm and cruel jokes. Aggression often develops in response to the care of a close circle of people, and this unmotivated aggressiveness is often a reason for offending close relatives, because they do not understand that this is the beginning of the disease “– said the doctor of medical sciences.
After that, according to Goncharova, there are difficulties with memories: a person forgets who he recently called and talked to.
“In the future, there is a violation of orientation in time, space, a loss of interest in everything that happens around. And there is such an aimless existence with rare glimpses of anxiety and aggressiveness”said the doctor.
In addition, to the main signs of dementia relate:
- problems with organization and planning,
- digestive problems, constipation,
- difficulties with articulation and pronunciation of words,
- excessive distraction, strange or intrusive thoughts,
- fatigue,
- false memories,
- sleep disorder,
- neglect of personal hygiene,
- sudden and frequent mood swings
- auditory and visual hallucinations.
Can dementia be slowed down?
According to doctors, with dementia, the progression of pathological processes can be slowed down. If you find any of the above signs, you should immediately contact a specialist – the diagnosis of dementia is carried out by a neurologist or psychiatrist.
According to Anna Goncharova, when dementia appears, early neurological diagnosis and serious vascular infusion therapy are very important.
“Thanks to the sequential infusion of certain pharmacological agents, we are able to maintain and correct brain functions, improve memory, thinking, motor activity”she explained.
At the same time, according to the doctor, physiotherapy exercises, classes with neurocorrectors and medications that help slow down the onset of dementia play an important role.
“A team of specialists must work. A competent physical therapy instructor must work, because physical activity, specific therapeutic physical activity can significantly slow down the onset of the stage of reducing motor activity. Also, the development of dementia will delay the maintenance of fine motor skills and coordination exercises”said the specialist.
Neurologist Pavel Khoroshev also emphasized that it is necessary to actively communicate with a patient with dementia, as well as involve him in social life. In order for the patient to receive the maximum amount of information into the brain, he needs to read, play on the computer and watch movies, the doctor advised.
Prevention of dementia
Many factors contribute to the development of dementia, but as a result of their leveling, the risks of the onset of the disease can be reduced, says neurologist Tatyana Shcherbakova. For this, according to her, it is necessary to regularly diagnose and correct arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus and cholesterol metabolism disorders.
The neurologist noted that in order to prevent dementia, one should regularly exercise, keep fit, follow the rules of healthy sleep, and constantly study. In addition, according to her, it is very important to avoid stress.
“It is difficult to avoid the impact of stress on a person. However, it is not the impact of a stress factor on a person that is more important, but his reaction to this factor. Therefore, an important skill for the prevention of dementia is the management of a response to stress, the development of stress resistance”said the doctor.
In addition, it is necessary to exclude smoking and alcohol, since they also affect the vessels of the brain and contribute to the development of dementia, the neurologist concluded.
Source: Ren
Henry Smith is a knowledgeable and experienced health journalist. He currently writes for 24 news breaker, where he provides readers with in-depth analysis and expert insights on a wide range of health-related topics. With a focus on evidence-based reporting and a passion for making complex health information accessible to a general audience, Henry’s work is highly respected in the industry.