Life is a process from birth to aging. As people age, their muscles will relax, their hearts will weaken, their hearing will decrease, and their appearance will age. Our brain reaches its peak of development at the age of 25 and then begins to decline. Aging is a life process that everyone must face. However, some people's brains are like rusty gears that cannot function properly, and memories cannot be burned into the brain, which is dementia.
What do you know about dementia?
Dementia is a syndrome caused by brain diseases, usually characterized by chronic or progressive disorders of various advanced cortical functions, mainly manifested as slow onset abnormalities in memory, learning, reasoning, spatial orientation, language, mental or behavioral aspects, and even leading to personality changes. It is generally more common in middle-aged and elderly people. Dementia is a clinical syndrome rather than an independent disease, including degenerative dementia: Alzheimer's disease dementia, Parkinson's disease dementia, frontotemporal dementia, Lewy body dementia, and non degenerative dementia: vascular dementia, dementia caused by disease factors or other external factors. Among them, Alzheimer's disease accounts for about 50% to 60% of dementia patients.
With the development of an aging population, dementia is becoming an increasingly severe global public health issue. Currently, there are approximately 50 million dementia patients worldwide, and it is expected that this number will increase to 152 million by 2050. In 2015, there were approximately 9.5 million dementia patients in China, and it is expected that the number of dementia patients will exceed 16 million by 2030. Dementia affects the quality of life of the elderly, leading to disability and death, and also imposes a heavy economic burden on the country, society, and caregivers.
There are various causes of dementia, and the etiology of some types of dementia is not yet clear. Genetic factors may be involved, while secondary dementia can be caused by diseases, trauma, poisoning, etc. The risk factors for different types of dementia also vary.
The top ten warning signs of dementia:
1. Memory gradually declines, affecting daily living activities.
2. Difficulty in dealing with familiar things.
3. Language difficulties.
4. There is increasing confusion about time, place, and people.
5. Judgment is gradually declining.
6. Decreased comprehension or ability to arrange things reasonably.
7. Often leave things in inappropriate places.
8. Emotional instability and abnormal behavior compared to before.
9. Personality changes occur. Such as becoming suspicious, indifferent, anxious, or rough.
10. Loss of initiative in doing things. If one is indifferent to things and loses interest and hobbies.
When patients are found to have sustained and progressive memory decline, as well as cognitive dysfunction such as emotional, behavioral, and personality abnormalities, and their functional levels have decreased compared to the past, which interfere with the independence of their daily activities, they should seek medical attention promptly to clarify or exclude the disease as soon as possible. During the consultation, the doctor may ask the following questions.
Has any member of the family ever suffered from dementia?
Is it difficult to remember new information? Difficult to remember events.
Is it difficult to handle complex tasks? Difficulties in reconciling accounts.
4. Are spatial and directional abilities abnormal? Getting lost in a familiar place.
5. Are there any language proficiency barriers? Difficulty finding words.
6. Have there been any changes in mental behavior and personality? Like a change in personality.
Have you recently suffered any external injuries, fallen ill or taken medication, or been exposed to toxic substances?
Doctors may conduct in-depth inquiries regarding abnormal responses, including the time of occurrence, onset form, specific manifestations and progression, diagnosis and treatment process and outcome, whether cognitive impairment affects the patient's social function, daily ability, and self-care ability, possible triggering factors or events, etc.
Potential modifiable risk factors of dementia
early life (low education level), middle age (hypertension, obesity, hearing impairment, traumatic brain injury and excessive drinking) and late life (smoking, depression, lack of exercise, social isolation, diabetes and air pollution).
The treatment and prognosis of dementia
Currently, according to different classifications of dementia, the treatment principles are different: degenerative dementia, the course of which is mostly irreversible, currently mainly focuses on symptomatic treatment, with the principle of improving the patient's quality of life and delaying the progression of the patient's condition. Non degenerative dementia can be reversed by timely treatment of the underlying disease. Dementia cannot be completely cured, and the cognitive dysfunction caused by dementia cannot be reversed, but some dementia, such as vascular dementia, brain trauma dementia, metabolic or toxic encephalopathy, and dementia caused by infectious diseases in non degenerative dementia, will have a relatively good prognosis if they can be diagnosed and treated early.
How can dementia be prevented?
Specific actions to prevent dementia include:
1. Maintaining systolic blood pressure at 130mmHg or lower from around the age of 40.
2. Encourage the use of hearing aids to treat hearing impairment, protect the ears from excessive noise, and reduce hearing impairment.
3. Reduce exposure to air pollution and second-hand tobacco smoke.
4. Prevent head injuries.
5. Limit alcohol consumption as alcohol abuse increases the risk of dementia.
6. Avoid smoking and persist in quitting.
Provide primary and secondary education for all children.
8. Reduce obesity and diabetes related diseases.
9. Maintain exercise.
10. Intervene in a healthy lifestyle to reduce other dementia risk factors and improve overall health.
Let's learn about dementia related knowledge together, take action to prevent dementia, and cope with aging calmly.