Dementia & Alzheimer's Information - WVVA TV Bluefield Beckley WV News, Weather and Sports

Dementia & Alzheimer's Information

Alzheimer's Support Group -  The support group is open to family members and to the community and meets every 3^rd Tuesday of the month at 5:30pm.  The support group has speakers from the Alzheimer's Association and people from the community who have loved ones with Alzheimer's.  This is a time for sharing and support. It allows the family to know there are people like them and they have someone to call on should they need help.

Princeton Health Care Center works with two hospice entities from our area to help residents and their families cope with end of life issues.

Dementia

Overview 

Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. It affects memory, thinking, language, judgment, and behavior.

Alternative Names 

Chronic brain syndrome; Lewy body dementia; DLB; Vascular dementia; Mild cognitive impairment; MCI

Causes 

Most types of dementia are nonreversible (degenerative). Nonreversible means the changes in the brain that are causing the dementia cannot be stopped or turned back. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia.

Lewy body disease is a leading cause of dementia in elderly adults. People with this condition have abnormal protein structures in certain areas of the brain.

Dementia also can be due to many small strokes. This is called vascular dementia.

The following medical conditions also can lead to dementia:

• Parkinson's disease
• Multiple sclerosis
• Huntington's disease
• Pick's disease
• Progressive supranuclear palsy
• Infections that can affect the brain, such as HIV/AIDS and Lyme disease

Some causes of dementia may be stopped or reversed if they are found soon enough, including:

• Brain tumors
• Changes in blood sugar, sodium, and calcium levels  (Dementia due to metabolic causes)
• Low vitamin B12 levels
• Normal pressure hydrocephalus
• Use of certain medications, including cimetadine and some cholesterol-lowering medications
• Chronic alcohol abuse

Dementia usually occurs in older age. It is rare in people under age 60 - although some people in their 40s and 50s have been diagnosed with dementia. The risk for dementia increases as a person gets older - 50% of people 85 and older will get dementia.

Symptoms 

Dementia symptoms include difficulty with many areas of mental function, including:

• Language
• Memory
• Perception
• Emotional behavior or personality
• Cognitive skills (such as calculation, abstract thinking, or judgment)

Dementia usually first appears as forgetfulness.

Mild cognitive impairment is the stage between normal forgetfulness due to aging and the development of dementia. People with MCI have mild problems with thinking and memory that do not interfere with everyday activities. They are often aware of the forgetfulness. Not everyone with MCI develops dementia.

Symptoms of MCI include:

• Forgetting recent events or conversations
• Difficulty performing more than one task at a time
• Difficulty solving problems
• Taking longer to perform more difficult mental activities

The early symptoms of dementia can include:

• Language problems, such as trouble finding the name of familiar objects
• Misplacing items
• Getting lost on familiar routes
• Personality changes and loss of social skills
• Losing interest in things you previously enjoyed, flat mood
• Difficulty performing tasks that take some thought, but that used to come easily, such as balancing a checkbook, playing games (such as bridge), and learning new information or routines

As the dementia becomes worse, symptoms are more obvious and interfere with the ability to take care of yourself. The symptoms may include:

• Forgetting details about current events
• Forgetting events in your own life history, losing awareness of who you are
• Change in sleep patterns, often waking up at night
• More difficulty reading or writing
• Poor judgment and loss of ability to recognize danger
• Using the wrong word, not pronouncing words correctly, speaking in confusing sentences
• Withdrawing from social contact
• Having hallucinations, arguments, striking out, and violent behavior
• Having delusions, depression, agitation
• Difficulty doing basic tasks, such as preparing meals, choosing proper clothing, or driving

People with severe dementia can no longer:

• Understand language
• Recognize family members
• Perform basic activities of daily living, such as eating, dressing, and bathing

Other symptoms that may occur with dementia:

• Incontinence
• Swallowing problems

Tests & diagnosis 

Dementia can often be diagnosed with a history and physical exam by a skilled doctor or nurse. A health care provider will take a history, do a physical exam (including a neurological exam), and perform some tests of mental function called a mental status examination.

The health care provider may order tests to help determine whether other problems could be causing dementia or making it worse. These conditions include:

• Thyroid disease
• Vitamin deficiency
• Brain tumor
• Intoxication from medications
• Chronic infection
• Anemia
• Severe depression

The following tests and procedures may be done:

• B12 level
• Blood ammonia levels
• Blood chemistry (chem-20)
• Blood gas analysis
• Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis
• Drug or alcohol levels (toxicology screen)
• Tests for exposure to metals such as lead or arsenic
• Electroencephalograph (EEG)
• Glucose test
• Head CT
• Liver function tests
• Mental status test
• MRI of head
• Serum calcium
• Serum electrolytes
• Thyroid function tests
• Thyroid stimulating hormone level
• Urinalysis

Treatment 

For information on how to take care of a loved one with dementia, see: Dementia - home care

The goal of treatment is to control the symptoms of dementia. Treatment depends on the condition causing the dementia. Some people may need to stay in the hospital for a short time.

Stopping or changing medications that make confusion worse may improve brain function.

There is growing evidence that some kinds of mental exercises can help dementia.

Treating conditions that can lead to confusion often greatly improve mental functioning. Such conditions include:

• Anemia
• Decreased oxygen (hypoxia)
• Depression
• Heart failure
• Infections
• Nutritional disorders
• Thyroid disorders

Medications may be needed to control behavior problems caused by a loss of judgement, increased impulsivity, and confusion. Possible medications include:

• Antipsychotics (haloperidol, risperdal, olanzapine)
• Mood stabilizers (fluoxetine, imipramine, citalopram)
• Serotonin-affecting drugs (trazodone, buspirone)
• Stimulants (methylphenidate)

Certain drugs may be used to slow the rate at which symptoms worsen. The benefit from these drugs is often small, and patients and their families may not always notice much of a change.

• Donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), galantamine (Razadyne, formerly called Reminyl)
• Memantine (Namenda)

A person's eyes and ears should be checked regularly. Hearing aids, glasses, or cataract surgery may be needed.

Psychotherapy or group therapy usually does not help because it may cause more confusion.

Prognosis 

People with mild cognitive impairment do not always develop dementia. However, when dementia does occur, it usually gets worse and often decreases quality of life and lifespan.

Complications 

Complications depend on the cause of the dementia, but may include the following:

• Abuse by an overstressed caregiver
• Increased infections anywhere in the body
• Loss of ability to function or care for self
• Loss of ability to interact
• Reduced lifespan
• Side effects of medications used to treat the disorder

When to contact a doctor 

Call your health care provider if:

• Dementia develops or a sudden change in mental status occurs
• The condition of a person with dementia gets worse
• You are unable to care for a person with dementia at home

Prevention 

Most causes of dementia are not preventable.

You can reduce the risk of vascular dementia, which is caused by a series of small strokes, by quitting smoking and controlling high blood pressure and diabetes. Eating a low-fat diet and exercising regularly may also reduce the risk of vascular dementia.

Alzheimer's Disease

What is Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's is a brain disease that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.

 The basics

• Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, a general term for memory loss and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer's disease accounts for 50 to 70 percent of dementia cases.
• Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging, although the greatest known risk factor is increasing age, and the majority of people with Alzheimer's are 65 and older. But Alzheimer's is not just a disease of old age. Up to 5 percent of people with the disease have early-onset Alzheimer's (also known as younger-onset), which often appears when someone is in their 40s or 50s.
  
  
• Alzheimer's worsens over time. Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, where symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer's, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment. Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Those with Alzheimer's live an average of eight years after their symptoms become noticeable to others, but survival can range from three to 20 years, depending on age and other health conditions.
  
  
• Alzheimer's has no current cure, but treatments for symptoms are available and research continues. Although current Alzheimer treatments cannot stop Alzheimer's from progressing, they can temporarily slow the worsening of symptoms and improve quality of life for those with Alzheimer's and their caregivers. Today, there is a worldwide effort under way to find better ways to treat the disease, delay its onset, and prevent it from developing.
  Symptoms

The most common early symptom of Alzheimer's is difficulty remembering newly learned information.

Just like the rest of our bodies, our brains change as we age . Most of us eventually notice some slowed thinking and occasional problems with remembering certain things. However, serious memory loss, confusion and other major changes in the way our minds work may be a sign that brain cells are failing.

The most common early symptom of Alzheimer's is difficulty remembering newly learned information because Alzheimer changes typically begin in the part of the brain that affects learning. As Alzheimer's advances through the brain it leads to increasingly severe symptoms, including disorientation, mood and behavior changes; deepening confusion about events, time and place; unfounded suspicions about family, friends and professional caregivers; more serious memory loss and behavior changes; and difficulty speaking, swallowing and walking.

There are many conditions can disrupt memory and mental function. Anyone experiencing significant memory problems should see a doctor as soon as possible. If you need assistance finding a doctor with experience evaluating memory problems, your local Alzheimer's Association chapter can help. Early diagnosis and intervention methods are improving dramatically, and treatment options and sources of support can improve quality of life

10 Signs of Alzheimer's

Risk Factors