Dementia in the Elderly: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment | TEMPO.CO

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – dementia in the elderly is often considered normal. People often assume that the elderly, especially from 65 years old, will experience a decline in their way of thinking and memory.

The Ministry of Health mentions a decline in thinking function accompanied by a decline in emotional control and social behavior which causes dementia as the main cause of loss of independent behavior in children elderly.

Is dementia dangerous for the elderly? Quoting from Preventiona neurologist and geriatric psychiatrist from California, David A. Merrill said that in people with dementia, death can be caused due to various factors.

Age factor is an unavoidable risk factor for dementia. As dementia gets worse, a person’s brain tissue shrinks and they are unable to take care of themselves or even communicate. Over time, this can lead to deadly complications of dementia.

For those of you who want to know more in-depth information, here’s an explanation of the symptoms of dementia, its causes, and how to treat it.

What is Dementia?

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Quoting from Mayo ClinicDementia is a term used to describe a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities that are sufficient to interfere with daily life. It’s not a specific disease, but several diseases can cause dementia.

Although dementia involves memory loss, however memory loss have different causes. If you experience memory loss, it doesn’t mean you have dementia, but it could be an early sign of dementia.

Quoted from National Institute on Aging, some people with dementia cannot control their emotions and their personalities can change. The severity of dementia ranges from the mildest stage when it is just starting to affect a person’s brain function, to the most severe stage, when one has to rely completely on other people for daily activities.

Dementia Symptoms

Symptoms Dementia occurs when neurons stop working, then lose connections with other brain cells, until they finally die. Following are the symptoms of dementia according to National Institute on Agingan official website of the United States government.

1. Experiencing memory loss, unstable thinking, and tend to be confused.
2. Difficulty speaking, understanding and expressing thoughts, or reading and writing.
3. Wandering around and getting lost in the surroundings.
4. Difficulty handling money responsibly.
5. Always asking repeated questions.
6. Using unfamiliar words to refer to familiar objects.
7. It takes longer to do some daily activities.
8. Losing interest in daily activities or events.
9. Hallucinating or experiencing delusions or paranoia.
10. Act impulsively.
11. Don’t care about other people’s feelings.
12. Loss of balance and problems with movement.

Causes of Dementia

The cause of dementia is damage to the brain’s nerve cells. Disturbances in brain function can appear in various conditions that are different for each patient, depending on the area of ​​the brain that is affected.

Apart from damage to the nerve cells of the brain, dementia also occurs due to brain damage caused by reduced blood flow in the blood vessels of the brain. Some problems with the blood vessels of the brain include heart valve infections, strokes, or other conditions in the blood vessels.

How to Treat Dementia

There are several ways to treat dementia that can be done, as follows.

1. Occupational Therapy

This therapy aims to teach how to carry out daily activities normally and safely. So that you can still carry out your daily activities.

2. Cognitive Therapy

Because dementia greatly affects how the brain works, this cognitive therapy can help stimulate memory, ways of thinking, language skills, and solving problems.

3. Behavior Therapy

Dementia sufferers often behave in an uncharacteristic or out of control way. Therefore, this therapy can suppress better behavior changes.

4. Inhibitor Kolinesterase

This is a drug to increase the chemical acetylcholine which is useful for delaying dementia symptoms so they don’t get worse.

That is an explanation of the symptoms of dementia in the elderly along with its causes and treatment. If you have dementia sufferers around you, you should give strong support and always teach good things so that you can set an example. Hope it is useful!

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ANNITA RAHMAWATI DEWI | MAYOCLINIC