What is Cognitive Dementia?

Cognitive dementia can be confusing and scary.- Blood-flow (vascular) disorders. Including
Dementia can cause you to lose your freedom andmultiple-infarct dementia, which is caused by multiple
independence. It can cause you to become a burdenstrokes in the brain.
to your children or other loved ones.- Infections that affect the central nervous system.
As you read, you will find out the facts aboutThese consist of HIV dementia complex and
cognitive dementia. You will discover different typesCreutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
and their causes. You may be amazed to find there- Chronic drug use.
are types of cognitive dementia that are reversible.- Depression.
You may well be pleasantly surprised to find that you- Certain types of hydrocephalus. This is a buildup of
may be able to delay or avoid dementia altogether!fluid in the brain. The fluid build up can result from
What is Cognitive Dementia?irregularities in development, infections, injury, or brain
Cognitive dementia is the loss of mental ability. Thetumors.
loss of the ability to think, remember and reason. To- Normal aging.
earn the label of dementia, the mental loss must getHow Common is Cognitive Dementia?
in the way of carrying out day-to-day activities. TheCognitive dementia develops mostly in elderly people.
reduced ability to fulfill day-to-day events must lastIt has always been common. In recent times, it's
for more than six months.even more common in the elderly. One reason is that
Cognitive dementia is not a disease. It is a group ofwe are living longer. A recent forecast is that the
symptoms. These symptoms would go along withnumbers of dementia cases will double every twenty
certain diseases or conditions. Signs of dementiayears.
might also include changes in mood, personality, andAge-related cognitive dementia starts around age 35.
behavior.It develops so slowly that it is not noticed until it
Cognitive dementia results when a number of factorsaffects day-to-day activities. This usually happens
affect parts of the brain. These factors can includearound age 65.
infections, diseases, or aging. The parts of the brainAbout 5 to 8 percent of all people over 65 have
involved with dementia with examples are:some form of dementia. This number doubles every
- Learning. Trouble learning a new kitchen appliance.five years above age 65. It's estimated that as many
- Memory. Trouble remembering where you lived theas half of people 85 or older suffer from dementia.
past few years.Some researchers think that half of people over age
- Decision-making. Not able to make what used to be80 will get Alzheimer's disease.
simple decisions.Which Causes of Cognitive Dementia Can be
- Language. Pausing to find words in the middle of aReversed?
sentence.Most thought of cognitive dementia as permanent.
What Are the Types of Cognitive Dementia?Especially when caused by disease or injury.
There are two groups of cognitive dementia. TheHowever, within the past few years, ongoing
group depends on what part of the brain is affected:research shows that this may not always be the
Cortical dementias. The cerebral cortex is changed.case. If done right, brain training can create new links
The cerebral cortex is the outer layers of the brain.and re-establish old ones. There are no guarantees.
It has a vital role in cognitive processes like memoryHowever, there is hope.
and speech. Patients with cortical dementia usuallyCognitive dementia may also be reversible if caused
have severe memory damage. These patients alsoby:
cannot recall words and cannot grasp common- Aging.
speech. This is aphasia. Alzheimer's and- Drugs.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are two forms of cortical- Alcohol.
dementia.- Depression.
Sub-cortical dementias. Beneath the cortex is- Vitamin imbalances.
affected. These patients show changes in their- Hormone imbalances. Treating causes can partly
personality and attention span. Their thinking slowscure dementia. Some treatments may even cure it
down. They may not show the memory loss andcompletely. For example, drug users can treat their
language hardships as with cortical dementias.habit to undo dementia. You can have tumors
Huntington's disease, Parkinson's Disease, and AIDSremoved, etc.
dementia complex are examples of sub-corticalHow Can I Prevent Cognitive Dementia?
dementias. There are cases where both parts of theResearchers believe that non-genetic causes of
brain are affected. One case is with multi-infarctcognitive dementia are preventable. Lifestyle factors
dementia.like diet and exercise make a difference.
What are Some of the Causes of CognitiveThe biggest factor is how you use your brain. If you
Dementia?do not use it, you lose it. Social interaction is very
The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer'simportant for keeping the brain active. Brain training
disease. Alzheimer's disease causes 50 to 70 percentgames are another way to keep the brain engaged.
of all dementia.Research is showing that if you play the right games
The most common causes of cognitive dementiaor exercises, you may be able to eliminate dementia.
include:Any brain training will do you good, like crossword
- Degenerative neurological diseases. These includepuzzles. However, there has not been enough
Alzheimer's, dementia with Lewy Bodies, Parkinson's,research done. Researchers cannot say for sure
and Huntington's.what benefit these games will provide.