Different Types of Dementia Explained

The term 'dementia' is used to describe the symptoms that occur when the brain is affected by certain diseases and conditions, such as memory loss.

What is important to understand is that there are various different types of dementia. Usually, people associate the term 'dementia' with Alzheimer's disease. Whilst this is the most common cause of dementia, it is not the only one. Learning about different types of dementia is important because each one has its own set of characteristics.

Types of dementia include:

? Alzheimer's disease

? Vascular dementia

? Dementia with Lewy bodies

? Fronto-temporal dementia

? Korsakoff's syndrome

? Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

? HIV-related cognitive impairment

? Mild cognitive impairment

There are also rarer forms of dementia such as supranuclear palsy and Binswanger's disease. The Alzheimer's Society publishes information about the various types of dementia on its website.

For the purposes of this article, we will explore two main types of dementia: Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease affects around 465,000 people in the UK. [Figures from the Alzheimer's Society]. It is a physical disease that affects the brain. The disease sees 'plaques' and 'tangles' develop in the structure of the brain. These plaques and tangles kill off brain cells. People suffering with the disease are also affected by a shortage of important chemicals in their brains. These chemicals help to transmit messages around the brain. Without them, these messages cannot be delivered.

Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that damages more and more parts of the brain as time goes on. As this happens, so the symptoms become more severe. For example, people in the early stages of Alzheimer's experience short memory lapses, perhaps struggling to find the right words for things. As the disease develops, sufferers will forget words - along with the names of people and places - as a matter of course. Understandably, this is both frustrating and frightening, and accordingly Alzheimer's sufferers may experience mood swings as the disease takes hold.

Individuals who are living with dementia will ultimately require round-the-clock care and will need to find a care solution where they can benefit from dedicated care and support from expertly trained care providers. This may be a residential care home or a live in care service from a home care company.

Vascular dementia

Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease. It is caused by problems in the supply of blood to the brain as a result of damage to a network of blood vessels in the organ called the vascular system. A damaged vascular system will not allow blood to reach the brain, which kills off brain cells - and this can lead to vascular dementia.

A number of conditions can incur damage to the vascular system including high blood pressure, heart problems, high cholesterol and diabetes. If these conditions are spotted early enough, they can be managed and as a result present less of a threat to the vascular system. Vascular dementia can also be brought on by a stroke.

Symptoms include forgetfulness, restlessness, confusion and aggression.

Dementia care

Individuals who are living with dementia need support. Family and friends have an important role to play, and as the condition advances the patient will often need some form of professional care. A live in carer who is trained in dementia care can provide both practical assistance and the emotional support and care that is needed when living with dementia. A live in carer also enables the person living with dementia to remain at home, which is greatly advantageous from the point of view of providing continuity of care in familiar surroundings promoting a sense of calm and overall wellbeing.

Laura Luckett works for The Good Care Group, a professional provider of high quality live-in care services that enables elderly people to stay safely and happily in their own home for as long as possible, maintaining independence and dignity.

Our expertly trained professional carers, who are exclusively employed by us provide a range of tailored services in the home, everything from personal care, cooking, domestic support and lifestyle and social activities, through to the management of complex conditions, such as dementia and Parkinson's.

We offer packages of care that meet a wide range of needs. Whether it is a live-in care service, or daily care (from 7-12 consecutive hours a day), or respite care following discharge from hospital our care team will find the right solution for you and your family.

http://www.thegoodcaregroup.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Laura_Luckett

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A Way To Help Your Family Look After You If You Have Dementia

Not many people think about the future. They plan the next holiday, write a shopping list for this week's groceries and wonder they might be going on Saturday night, but they don't really think beyond the next few days. There's nothing wrong with this and it's what most of us do. We're so busy getting on with today and tomorrow that planning years ahead just isn't high on the agenda. The problem is, it suddenly arrives - the future you thought you'd never have to worry about, and it can be an unpleasant shock for all concerned if all is not as rosy and wonderful as you thought it would be.

In my job I come across cases on a regular basis where happy and productive people who had everything going for them find that for some reason they just can't cope anymore. They are diagnosed with an illness such as Alzheimer's or Dementia, often with complications like incontinence, that means they can no longer cope with daily life and decisions in the way they always have. A chain of events then begins that will slowly unravel the life they thought they were going to have. The happy retirement, spending more time with the family, even finishing the career that has been worked on so hard for so long, it is all suddenly impossible as the person loses the ability to think and function for themselves. The person concerned then has to rely on help from family and healthcare workers, which requires time and commitment for all concerned. Ultimately, they person may need to go in to care.

All of this caring, both from family and professionals, needs money. Just doing the shopping for the person hits the family person, let alone thinking about how to cover the costs of residential care. It's something I've seen happen several times and the families are usually caught out in a nasty and ironic way. Money is needed to cope with the condition. The money is there, in the form of savings, the person's house, pension plans and investments, but no one can get at it as the person who is allowed to (the sufferer) is no longer capable of accessing it. So the families are put through the hardship of finding the money themselves, knowing the only time they will ever see the person's own money is if they inherit when the person eventually dies - which could be many years away.

This brings me back to my original point. We really should think about the future. Not just the rosy ideal we all want, but the unpleasant reality that will affect hundreds of thousands of us as we get older. We need to ask "how will my family and loved ones cope if I don't even know who I am anymore". I've recently learned about the solution, but it's a brave one as it means accepting that at some stage in the future you may not be responsible enough to take care of your own affairs. It's called a "Lasting Power of Attorney", and I recommend it anyone who is over 50.

It is a legal document that says, in the event that you are assessed by a doctor as being no longer capable of making your own decisions due to mental illness, someone you've appointed can take over your financial affairs. It is very carefully set up to make sure that the only time it comes in to effect is when you are clearly no longer capable of taking care of your affairs yourself. The critical factor is that when you complete the document, you have to be certified by a professional such as a doctor of solicitor as fully aware of the commitment you are making. In other words, you have not been pressured into the decision by anybody and that at that time you are fully capable of making such a decision.

Making the Lasting Power of Attorney is not a decision to be taken lightly, but if the worst does happen it can make all the difference to those who will be bearing the burden of looking after you. There are of course protections within the law to stop the ones you have given control of your affairs to from just abandoning you and running off with the money. They do have to demonstrate at all times that what they are doing is for your benefit, but it does mean they won't have to re-mortgage their own house and use their own savings to take care of you, and that will mean so much to the people who love you most and will want to take care of you.

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