Dementia is manifested in the deterioration of human intellectual abilities. It is both congenital and acquired, and is also called dementia in another way. Symptoms differ significantly from the degree of dementia. They are distinguished by three.
What is it?
Starting with a mild degree of dementia, a person begins to suffer from a weakening of memory. The stock of knowledge that he managed to accumulate is reduced. In this case, the nervous system is affected, and the brain is gradually destroyed. All three degrees of dementia are manifested in the fact that a person does not have a connection between fantasy and reality. His reactions become poor, he is no longer critical of his own behavior and words. Not so long ago, only people over 65 years old noticed such symptoms, but now the disease is "getting younger."
By degrees
Mild severity of dementia - the first - is manifested in the fact that a person retains the ability to lead an independent everyday life. Moreover, sometimes the first difficulties are noted in the cognitive sphere. They appear in new situations - when you need to remember where the person put something, time or place. Sometimes this degree of dementia is expressed in the inability to learn new information. A person tries, but cannot perceive information.
Dementia of moderate degree - the second - is expressed in memory loss. With it, a person loses the ability to lead an independent life. He continues to carry out standard actions, which are brought to automaticity. But any new information is kept in it for only a couple of minutes. As the degree of dementia increases, a person forgets who he is and where he lives. He cannot remember the names of his relatives.
With grade 3 dementia, he actually completely loses his memory - both verbal and non-verbal. He loses the ability to remember new information in general. Forgets everything that he knew before. He ceases to recognize the next of kin.
Interesting Facts
In 20% of cases, dementia is caused by diseases of the vascular system of the body. About 35% of all senile diseases are dementia. Three times more often, all degrees of dementia are manifested in women.
Prevention of dementia is the maintenance of an active and healthy lifestyle, and active mental activity - study also helps. In addition, dancing is saved. Approximately 6% of people of senile age suffer from a pronounced degree of dementia. Another 15% suffer from its lighter forms.
By the age of 75, this disease develops in most of the population. The probability of developing dementia in representatives of families in which there have already been similar cases is 4 times higher. Approximately 2-10 years pass from the moment the first signs of dementia appear until the day of death. About 10% of patients with this diagnosis suffer from psychosis. An effective treatment for dementia does not exist, this process is not amenable to therapy.
What threatens a long life
It is important to consider that dementia accompanies many diseases associated with the nervous system - Alzheimer's, Huntington and so on. As a rule, long-livers suffer from them. So, every third resident of the United States, dying in old age, suffers either from Alzheimer's disease or dementia.
Prevention allows people to stay healthy for an even longer time. But as people's lifespan is growing, the number of patients will also increase steadily. According to the latest research, by 2040, the number of people suffering from any degree of dementia will be 81,000,000. In total, at the beginning of the XXI century, the number of patients increased by 34%.
Early dementia
Despite the fact that dementia is most often associated with people of advanced age, cognitive functions can also be inhibited in a younger population. Sometimes symptoms appear even before 40 years. According to research, in England, per 100,000 people aged 30-64 years, there are 54 suffering from dementia.
As a rule, early dementia occurs due to disorders of the nervous system. Sometimes it is caused by a gene mutation. Sometimes changes are caused by traumatic brain injuries, alcohol intoxication also has a negative effect.
The difficulty is the diagnosis of dementia at an early stage. Many symptoms are explained by fatigue, chronic stress. And for this reason, noticing these phenomena, you should consult a doctor.
Healthy lifestyle and dementia
Dementia is closely linked to obesity. And even a slight excess weight increases the likelihood that a person will face dementia. This was revealed in studies conducted in Sweden. They watched twins over 65 years old. The same results were shown by American studies. During them, 19,000 people were examined. People with a low level of physical fitness have a good chance that they will suffer from dementia with age.
In addition, regular physical activity slows down the development of dementia. After all, it increases the cognitive activity of a person. Diet also plays a crucial role. The more people get used to eating fruits and vegetables from youth, the healthier they will be in old age. Bad habits also cause many negative consequences. A person who smokes two packs a day increases the likelihood of having dementia soon doubled. Alcohol also provokes early dementia.
The right attitude
A lot of lonely elderly people are faced with dementia. If a person is in a good mood, then the likelihood of cognitive impairment does not increase. It is about those who feel left out. Then dementia will develop with much greater likelihood at an early age.
Malfunctions with the spiritual sphere of life, satisfaction with one's being lead to an increase in the likelihood of depression and dementia. People who suffer from depression increase the likelihood that they will develop dementia 3 times. The presence of stress factors (difficulties in a career, parting) also leads to an increase in probability. Stress has a decisive influence on human health in the future.
Brainwork
Scientists are very thoroughly investigating whether mental work is able to reduce risks. At the same time, it was possible to find out that people who are engaged in active mental work slow down the development of dementia by 32%. If a person does not analyze information enough, reads or writes - dementia develops in an accelerated mode.
And, as a rule, elderly people who work with computing and technology are less likely to experience dementia. The use of computer technology also has a positive effect on the brain. A positive effect on his condition is the constant adoption of new decisions, active interaction with the outside world.
In addition, mental activity tones those who are already suffering from dementia. Not so long ago, educational therapy was introduced - during it, patients solve problems from arithmetic, are engaged in retelling stories. Thanks to this, the memory of patients is strengthened, their quality of life is steadily growing. However, such a treatment will never completely protect a person from pathologies towards the end of his life.
Estrogen and anemia
It has been proven that the development of dementia is affected by the level of estrogen in the female body. During menopause, the risk of cognitive impairment increases. And if she also suffers from diabetes, increased estrogen levels will increase the risks to a large extent.
Why is this happening? No one has yet determined this. Probably the whole point is that estrogen has an effect on blood vessels.
In addition, anemia and dementia are interconnected. A person who has low blood hemoglobin in old age is twice as likely to suffer from cognitive impairment. Perhaps the reason lies in the fact that tissues with anemia eat less oxygen. And this has a negative effect on the state of the brain.
Dementia tests
It is important to notice signs of dementia as early as possible. After all, then the chances of successful getting rid of the disease will increase. So the home system was invented, which allows to establish the presence of signs of dementia in a person. The latest SAGE product allows you to check whether a person is oriented in time, whether he has memory.
In addition, if there is a suspicion that a person is suffering from dementia, there is another technique to find out for sure. It is enough to show him photographs of celebrities whom he knows for sure. And if a person suffers from dementia, he will not remember who it is.
Music and memories
It is believed that reminiscence therapy can help. During this treatment, patients talk about their past, analyze all the events again. It can enhance mood, improve memory. At the same time, the effectiveness of this method is not confirmed by official studies.