There are several conditions which can cause dementia. Some of them are more frequent than others, some progress faster, and some can be reversed while others can’t. Each of these causes can affect different parts of the brain. Here are some of the main causes of dementia.
What is Dementia?
T
he term “dementia” doesn’t refer to a specific illness; instead, it is used to describe symptoms comprising a broad spectrum of brain diseases which are severe enough to affect a person’s daily life.
Dementia affects a person’s cognitive functions, such as memory, language, thinking, and orientation, amongst other aspects of their life, such as emotional control, and social behavior.
Dementia has become more common as life expectancies grow longer, and it is one of the more common causes of disability in the elderly.
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What Causes Dementia?
Although the exact causes for many of the diseases which cause dementia haven’t been discovered, there are certain risk factors which can increase a person’s chance of suffering from dementia. These risk factors include:
- Age: this is the most important risk factor. Dementia is very infrequent in people below the age of 60 years old, but by 80 years old it becomes very common, and it has been estimated that it affects nearly half of people over 90 years old.
- Genetics: certain genes can increase a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
- It has been theorized that suffering from diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, and unhealthy habits such as smoking and leading a sedentary lifestyle can increase the chance of suffering from dementia later on in life.
How is Dementia Diagnosed?
Since dementia isn’t a specific disease, but rather a group of illnesses which cause certain symptoms, it is understandable that there isn’t a single test to diagnose it.
Doctors will review a patient’s history to check for symptoms which point to cognitive impairment; if necessary, the patient will be referred to another specialist, such as a geriatrician, psychiatrist, or neurologist.
Tests are usually carried out to determine the extent of the impairment and to rule out reversible causes of dementia. Brain scanning techniques, such as PET scans, can be used to determine which part of the brain has been affected; however, in some cases it is not possible to point to the exact cause of dementia.
The mini mental state examination (MMSE) is used to assess a patient’s cognitive functioning. There are other tests available for this purpose, such as the abbreviated mental test score (AMTS), the clock drawing test, and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA).
Treating Dementia
There is no cure for the non-reversible causes of dementia; however, current treatments can help slow its progression and improve the patient’s quality of life.
Access to therapy is important after diagnosis, to make sure the patient is offered help in dealing with the disease and doesn’t develop anxiety or depression. Therapy can also help keep the patient’s mind active, retain skills, and relearn how to perform daily activities. Different types of therapy used in dementia include: reminiscence therapy, cognitive reframing, validation therapy, occupational therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Other activities should be offered to the patient to make sure they stay active both mentally and physically, such as music, art, gardening, dancing, and exercise, amongst others.
Medication can’t cure dementia, but it can be used to treat its symptoms. Some of these medications include:
- Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors: these drugs may be useful in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, DLB, by increasing the levels of acetylcholine. They include donezepil, rivastigmine, and galantamine.
- N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor blockers: such as memantine, this medication is also used to treat Alzheimer’s, and it has been shown to slow the progression of symptoms in some cases. It works by reducing the amounts of glutamate in the brain.
- Benzodiazepines, such as diazepam, are contraindicated in dementia, since they can worsen the cognitive impairment.
Since the condition of patients with dementia worsens over time, palliative care is an option that must be considered to help patients and their loved ones cope with dementia once it has reached a terminal stage.
Dementia Clinical Trials
Clinical trials for dementia and the conditions that cause it aim to discover ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat it. There are also trials that aim to find ways to improve dementia patients’ quality of life.
Treatment clinical trials have two aims: to discover therapeutic options that can reduce symptoms, and slow or stop the progression of the disease. Diagnostic studies try to find new ways to diagnose dementia in its early stages, and to better identify risk factors so that the condition can be diagnosed even before the patient starts to display symptoms. There are also prevention trials, which look for ways to prevent the disease from developing at all.
Many patients choose to participate in clinical trials to take control of their health, and to gain access to care provided by experts in the field. Clinical trials are led by a team of specialists, researchers, and healthcare personnel, and the patient can choose to leave the trial at any point.
ClinicalTrials.gov: Recruiting Studies | dementia | Last update posted in the last 300 days Studies found on ClinicalTrials.gov by a search of: Recruiting Studies | dementia | Last update posted in the last 300 days
- LEAD IT! An App to Enable Persons With Early Stage Dementia to Lead Group Activities for Their Peers on May 25, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Conditions: Dementia; Alzheimer DiseaseIntervention: Behavioral: LEAD IT! programmingSponsor: Hearthstone Alzheimer CareRecruiting
- Group-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Family Caregivers of People With Dementia in Japan on May 24, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Conditions: Dementia; Family CaregiversInterventions: Behavioral: Group-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT); Behavioral: Group-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)Sponsor: Meiji Gakuin UniversityRecruiting
- Validation Study of a New Digital Treatment Test on May 21, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Conditions: Alzheimer Disease; MCIIntervention: Other: BGaze therapy AlzheimerSponsor: BraingazeRecruiting
- Dementia Family Caregiver Study on May 20, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Condition: Dementia CaregiverInterventions: Behavioral: Community Health Worker (CHW) Home Visit Intervention; Behavioral: Attention Control Group with WIoT Technology; Behavioral: Usual CareSponsors: University of California, Irvine; National Institute on Aging (NIA)Recruiting
- Treatment for Speech and Language in Primary Progressive Aphasia on May 11, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Conditions: Primary Progressive Aphasia; Semantic Dementia; Semantic Memory Disorder; Logopenic Progressive Aphasia; Nonfluent Aphasia, Progressive; Aphasia; Aphasia, ProgressiveInterventions: Behavioral: Lexical Retrieval Training (LRT); Behavioral: Video-Implemented Script Training for Aphasia (VISTA)Sponsors: University of Texas at Austin; National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD); University of California, San FranciscoRecruiting
- Phenotype, Genotype and Biomarkers 2 on May 6, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Conditions: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia; Primary Lateral Sclerosis; Progressive Muscular Atrophy; Frontotemporal DementiaIntervention: Sponsors: University of Miami; National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)Recruiting
- On Site Sensors Monitoring Impacts of Cognitive Decline on ADLs on May 4, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Conditions: Dementia; Dementia AlzheimersIntervention: Sponsors: National Institute on Aging (NIA); Texas A&M University; Baylor Research Institute; Georgia Institute of TechnologyRecruiting
- The Synapse Project on May 4, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Condition: Alzheimer DiseaseIntervention: Drug: UCB-JSponsors: University of Wisconsin, Madison; National Institute on Aging (NIA)Recruiting
- Applying Non-invasive Brain Stimulation in Alzheimer's Rehabilitation on April 30, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Conditions: Alzheimer Disease; Mild Cognitive ImpairmentInterventions: Device: Experimental: Continuous TBS (cTBS); Device: Intermittent TBS (iTBS); Behavioral: Cognitive training (CT).; Device: Sham Stimulation (shamTBS)Sponsor: Università degli Studi di TrentoRecruiting
- Couples Lived Experience on April 28, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Condition: Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD)Intervention: Sponsors: NYU Langone Health; National Institute on Aging (NIA)Recruiting
- Amyloid Prediction in Early Stage Alzheimer's Disease From Acoustic and Linguistic Patterns of Speech - PAST Extension on April 20, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Conditions: Alzheimer Disease; Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease; Prodromal Alzheimer's Disease; Alzheimer's Disease (Incl Subtypes); Mild Cognitive ImpairmentIntervention: Sponsor: Novoic LimitedRecruiting
- Detection of Alzheimer's Disease (AD)-Related Seeds for AD Diagnosis on April 20, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Condition: Alzheimer's DiseaseIntervention: Sponsors: Capital Medical University; Shandong Provincial Hospital; Xiangya Hospital of Central South University; Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital; Beijing Geriatric Hospital; Kaifeng Central Hospital; The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical Universty; Huashan Hospital; First Affiliated Hospital Xi'an Jiaotong University; West China Hospital; Henan Provincial People's HospitalRecruiting
Match to Dementia Clinical Trials
- Access to cutting-edge treatments
- Latest clinical trials
- Find trials in your area
Lifestyle Changes
- Seek professional help to help you cope with your diagnosis and the changes you are experiencing.
- Make sure to communicate your needs to those closest to you so that they know how to help you.
- Maintain a lifestyle that’s as active as possible, both physically and psychologically.
- Allow yourself to grieve after your diagnosis, but don’t let dementia define who you are.
- Think about your plans for the future. Talk to your loved ones about your wishes, and consider going to a lawyer to plan your financial future.
- Don’t be ashamed to ask for help when you need it.
Tips For Friends and Family
- Take time to accept and cope with your loved one’s diagnosis.
- Show affection to your loved one and be reassuring.
- Create a safe and understanding environment and prepare for future changes in your loved one’s condition.
- Simplify daily tasks and activities when necessary, by breaking them down into smaller steps that are more manageable for your loved one.
- Make sure to have people there to help, whether they are family members, friends or healthcare professionals.
- Consider therapy to help you cope with the changes occurring in your life.
Sources
- Dementia. Mayo Clinic (Aug 2nd,2017) Recovered from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dementia/symptoms-causes/syc-20352013
- Dementia. World Health Organization (December, 2017). Recovered from https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs362/en/