The most prevalent form of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. What kinds of dementia are there? And what do you need to know about each of them? We will talk about this in the next article.
The various forms of dementia and the key details will be covered in the sections that follow. Details are as follows:
Types of dementia: an important introduction
Dementia is a term used to describe a group of symptoms that include memory loss, perception changes, and other neurological issues that can have a negative impact on a person's quality of life rather than a specific disease. Dementia symptoms can result from a variety of illnesses and health issues, and these illnesses are categorised according to how they manifest. Medically, they are both types and causes of dementia at the same time.
There are three main classifications for dementia:
- Primary dementia, also known as progressive dementia, refers to situations in which the patient's primary health issue is dementia.
- Types of dementia caused by another illness or condition are included in the category of secondary dementia.
- Reversible dementia is a group of diseases that can be treated and reversed in patients who exhibit dementia-like symptoms.
Types of primary dementia
Here is a quick summary of it:
1. Alzheimer's disease
As far as dementia goes, Alzheimer's disease is the most prevalent. Approximately 60% - 80% of recorded dementia cases are attributed to Alzheimer's disease specifically, and this disease often affects the elderly.
This type of dementia develops as a result of the buildup of specific protein substances in the brain, which may first obstruct neurons' ability to communicate before eventually leading to the death of neurons in various parts of the brain. Other facets of the patient's life, like his speech and vision.
2. Lewy body dementia
Lewy bodies are tiny accumulations of a type of protein inside neurons; Some may arise in a specific area of the brain known as the cortex. Lewy corpuscles are so named in honour of the researcher who was the first to be able to observe and record them.
The buildup of Lewy bodies is responsible for 5% to 10% of dementia cases. It's important to note that individuals with other dementias, like Alzheimer's disease, may also have Lewy bodies in their brains. Lewy body buildup over time may result in the gradual death of neurons. Then many neurological symptoms begin to appear on the patient, such as: difficulty thinking, visual hallucinations, and sleep disturbances .
3. Frontotemporal dementia
This type of dementia usually arises as a result of damage to the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain, and it is caused by an abnormal accumulation of certain types of proteins that may lead to the death of neurons in the aforementioned lobes, and these parts of the brain are the areas mainly responsible for controlling functions and skills. specific, such as in movement, pronunciation, and feelings.
A relatively common form of dementia is frontotemporal dementia. Approximately 5%-6% of dementia cases are attributed to the specific type of dementia.
Among the symptoms of frontal chromosomal dementia are changes in behavior and personality, difficulty choosing the right words, and movement disorders .
4. Vascular dementia
This particular form of dementia frequently results from damage to some of the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain as a result of medical conditions like atherosclerosis, a full-blown stroke, or a mini or silent stroke.
Depending on which area of the stroke was damaged, the symptoms of vascular dementia may take different forms.
This type of dementia is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer's, and among the symptoms of vascular dementia are the following: difficulty making decisions, difficulties speaking, and difficulty walking in a normal way without falling.
5. Mixed dementia
In some cases, the cause of dementia may be a combination of more than one type of dementia, and in cases of mixed dementia in particular, two different types of dementia often come together in the patient, especially the following two types of dementia: Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.
Types of secondary dementia
The most noteworthy are listed below:
- Parkinson's disease: Parkinson's disease frequently progresses to its advanced stages before the patient exhibits many dementia-related symptoms.
- Huntington's disease: Caused by a genetic defect, this disease manifests in the patient as a variety of neurological symptoms, including dementia-like signs and symptoms.
- Traumatic brain injury: This condition may result from repeated head trauma, and over time, the patient may start to experience the symptoms of dementia.
- Other illnesses include Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Types of reversible dementia
There are also a group of diseases and health problems in which people with dementia-like symptoms may appear, but they can be cured when undergoing the necessary treatment, including the following:
- Deficiency of certain nutrients, including copper, vitamin E, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12.
- Several immune system disorders, including sclerosis.
- some infections and inflammations, including Lyme disease and syphilis.
- Addison's disease and Cushing's disease are two examples of diseases that affect the endocrine or metabolic systems.
- in rare instances, brain tumours.