Dementia in the elderly: What you need to know

This is an automatically translated article.

This article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Bui Ngoc Phuong Hoa - General Internal Medicine - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Danang International Hospital.
Currently, Vietnam is one of the 10 countries with the fastest population aging in the world, leading to shifts in disease burden. Dementia is one of the most typical diseases that elderly people in Vietnam often suffer from.

1. What is dementia?

Dementia is not a disease, it is a clinical syndrome caused by brain damage. Characteristically manifest is impairment in cognitive domains such as memory, attention, orientation, language, intelligence, reasoning, executive functioning, and the ability to perform sequential tasks. Besides, dementia can be found in many different diseases, especially Alzheimer's disease - this disease accounts for 60% - 80% of all dementia patients.

2. Symptoms of Dementia

Dementia will often appear the following manifestations:
Memory is impaired, the first stage is usually short-term memory loss Decreased cognitive ability in time and space Has a speechless expression, difficult to find from speaking, saying wrongly, writing wrongly Unable to recognize relatives, acquaintances, familiar or misidentified objects Difficulty in eating, personal hygiene... Fear of contact with people, withdraw from work and society Emotional changes Impaired executive ability: reduced ability to calculate, decreased creativity, inability to make decisions to run, plan.

Has personality changes, is always self-centered, very excitable and the disease will get worse as it progresses, such as agitated words, actions, inappropriate behaviors such as wandering. In addition to cognitive disorders, dementia also has symptoms of psycho-behavioral disturbances and severe functional impairment, depending on the stage of disease development.

3. Causes of dementia

Dementia causes a great burden for the patient himself as well as his family and society. The main causes of dementia include:
Alzheimer's disease Due to neurological disorders and trauma such as traumatic brain injury... Due to myocardial infarction, encephalitis, brain hemorrhage Due to internal disorders secretions such as diabetes, hypothyroidism... Due to the abuse of stimulants, inappropriate drug use.

4. How to prevent dementia

To prevent diseases the elderly need:
Regularly do mental activities such as reading books, participating in community activities. Elderly people must regularly exercise regularly, gently...

Keep the spirit upbeat and cheerful. Avoid the use of stimulants such as alcohol, drugs When using brain tonics and brain nutrients, it is necessary to have the appointment and advice of medical experts Regularly check your health periodically and need to be examined. Early onset of symptoms Dementia in the elderly should be treated as soon as possible. Therefore, the care and treatment of patients should be carried out early at reputable medical facilities.

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