Dementia

What are the types of dementia?

Alzheimers, Lewy Body, Vascular, Fronto-temporal, Early onset

What is the pathophysiology of alzheimer’s?

The accumulation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles lead to reduced information transmission and eventually the death of brain cells

What are symtoms of alzheimer’s?

memory problems - esp. difficulties in recalling recent events and learning new information

difficulty concentrating

difficulty planning and organising

communication difficulties

changes in perception - e.g. struggle to judge distances/see outlines of objects

What are the risk factors for alzheimer’s?

Older age

Female

Genetics

Smoking, Alcohol consumption

Diabetes, Stroke, High blood pressure

What is vascular dementia?

Brain tissue, most commonly the cerebral white matter, is damaged by reduced or disrupted blood flow such as from strokes or hypertension

What are signs and symptoms of vascular dementia?

Cognitive impairment

Mood disturbances, psychosis/delusions/hallucinations/paranoia

Difficulties with organisation and decision making

Slower speeds of thought

Problems concentrating

What is Lewy Body Dementia?

Lewy Body Proteins are deposited in the brain, leading to reduced transmission and breaks down connections between nerve cells

What are signs and symptoms of Lewy Body Dementia?

hallucinations and delusions

difficulties concentrating

memory loss

difficulties with movement

disturbed sleep

agitation and restlessness

What is frontotemporal dementia?

neuron damage and death occur in the frontal and temporal lobes due to the deposition of abnormal proteins within the lobes

What are the most common protein deposits in frontotemporal dementia?

Tau

What are the presentations of frontotemporal dementia?

behavioural, semantic, non-fluent

What is the behavioural presentation of frontotemporal dementia?

altered emotional responsiveness, apathy, disinhibition, impulsivity

progressive decline in interpersonal skills

obsessions and rituals

What is the semantic presentation of dementia?

progressive decline in understanding word meanings

difficulty in word retrieval

Inability to recognise objects or familiar faces

What is the non-fluent presentation of frontotemporal dementia?

progressive breakdown in the output of language

speech takes effort and is not fluent

speech apraxia or disorders of speech sound

impaired comprehension of sentences

What is young-onset dementia?

When a person younger than 65 develops dementia

How many people have dementia in the UK?

900,000