According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), over 55 million people are living with dementia worldwide. NHS England reports that in the UK alone, 1 in 14 people over the age of 65 suffers from it. With statistics this high, it is likely that you know someone who has a dementia diagnosis.
If you do, then you’ll know it can be a frightening and confusing experience. We hope that by explaining what dementia is, we’ll give you some comfort in this difficult time. Understanding this illness will remove those lingering questions and help you to acknowledge what your loved one is facing.
What is the Underlying Cause of Dementia?
Dementia is caused by a lack of nerve cells and their connections in the brain. Depending on the area of the brain that’s damaged, dementia can affect people differently and cause different symptoms. For some people, dementia may cause memory loss and affect thinking skills. Other people may experience changes in mood or behaviour or for some all of the above and more.
One of the most common types of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, is caused by a build-up of proteins around nerve cells in the brain. This build-up of proteins causes plaque, which damages these nerve cells.
We are still unsure what contributes towards dementia in older people, but scientists at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders are continually searching for new ways to prevent and treat it.
What Types of Dementia are There?
There are over 100 different types of dementia, and each one has different symptoms and effects. For example, vascular dementia can cause memory loss and difficulty with balance. Parkinson’s disease dementia causes shaking and stiffness. Lewy bodies dementia is caused by a build-up of the alpha-synuclein protein around brain cells, which causes issues with thinking and changes in mood.
If you are worried about any symptoms you or a loved one have, then check the NHS England website or book an appointment with your GP.
What is Dementia in Simple Words?
Dementia is a condition that usually affects people over the age of 65. It isn’t a disease, instead, It’s a descriptor for people who have lost their ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interfere with their everyday activities. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia and it affects people of all ages. Though dementia isn’t part of normal ageing, it’s something we all could face at some point in our lives.
There isn’t currently a cure for dementia, but there are treatments through NHS England which can lessen symptoms or slow down the process.
Why is Vascular Dementia Progressive?
Vascular dementia gets progressively worse the longer a person suffers from it. At the start, the primary symptom is confusion. For example, a person with the onset of vascular dementia might struggle to make a cup of tea or cook a meal. Eventually, symptoms worsen until the sufferer has dementia memory loss. In some instances, the later stages of vascular dementia have even caused people to have hallucinations.
A stroke is common with some kinds of vascular dementia. Strokes damage the brain, which worsens symptoms of dementia and causes them to progress.
Your Safety Measure
Memory loss is one of the main symptoms of dementia. This can lead to confusion with simple tasks, like closing a door when entering a home or shutting a window when it gets cold. Although it sounds like a simple thing, cold poses one of the biggest risks to older people. It can lead to health conditions and even death.
At Assurelink our smart home monitoring systems detect if doors are open and what the temperature is, sending an alert to your phone. This helps protect older people who are living alone with dementia, ensuring they are staying warm in those cold winter months and giving you peace of mind that everything is normal.
Discover more about how our revolutionary new system protects your loved ones by clicking here.
