Dementia

Defining Dementia and What Causes It?

Age-related cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia are the main types of memory loss. The symptoms are quite similar, anyways the conditions are distinctive and it’s essential to differentiate them.

Age-related cognitive decline

This type of memory loss is a common feature of a human brain during aging. Just like the other parts of the body such as skin, hair, muscles etc. lose their proper functioning, memory problems can be delineated through the years.

Mild cognitive impairment

People who suffer from MCI have more cognitive problems comparing to age-related decline. Daily tasks are more difficult to accomplish, but the disease does not cause behavioral changes, unlike dementia.

Dementia

Dementia is the severest way of cognitive decline. Such condition causes problems in behavior and can lead to irritability, paranoia, hallucinations, aggression, unusual sexual behavior, and even physical violence as a consequence of thinking, remembering, and reasoning dysfunction. Alzheimer’s disease is the main reason for the development of dementia. It is still unknown what triggers the appearance of dementia, but the brain areas responsible for memory are damaged at first causing forgetfulness and later affecting basic physical functions like breathing and swallowing.

At the Risk of Dementia

The causes of dementia are still being an unsolved question, which makes impossible to detect the condition at the early stages. The main risk factor is aging, and the disease is most common in elderly people, usually over the age of 85. Another component of dementia risk is a genetic predisposition. If you carry the gene mutation in your DNA, there is a possibility of developing the disease in the future. Moreover, mental illnesses such as depression are associated with a higher risk of developing dementia.

Is there prevention?

Unfortunately, dementia cannot be prevented and it is impossible no slow down its progression. The main goal of dementia research is its general influence upon it, ideally through lifestyle changes, that may delay cognitive decline. Research provides many interventions to slow the development of cognitive decline, but only some of them are quite reassuring.

• Physical activity

According to research results, exercising may help to delay age-related cognitive decline, anyways there no pure conclusion that it has the same effect upon MCI or dementia. In any case, physical activity is a great contributor to general health, so it is still beneficial to exercise regularly.

• Brain training games

“Cognitive training” is an already famous notion, which includes games that challenge different parts of the human brain. Some of such games are highly effective, but the majority of them teach your brain how to adapt to the particular game. Another notion appeared that is known as a “transfer effect”, that is based on the benefits gained from playing brain training games. Anyways, scientists are not sure about the influence of such games, just like there is still no certain way of testing any improvements.

• Lowering high blood pressure

According to a recent clinical trial, blood pressure is connected with dementia and MCI development. People who have intensive blood pressure are more likely to develop cognition dysfunctions. Reducing hypertension showed the significantly lower rate of MCI and it is logical to link the results only to MCI, but dementia develops after MCI, so it looks like a good reason to watch out your blood pressure.

• Social interaction

Despite the fact that it is a new area of research, it already proved that lack of social interaction increases the risk of cognitive diseases. Eye contact and back-and-forth conversation are the most important aspects of face-to-face communication, that are required for socially isolated people. Staying socially and physically active is the best dementia intervention so far.