In this essay I will look at the different types of dementia and how they can affect an individuals physical and mental health, their wellbeing and quality of life. Another thing it will cover is how the care is improved by the workers if they have a good understanding and knowledge of the effects of dementia.
The one cause of Alzheimer’s is a build-up of proteins which cause plaques and tangles that form in the brain. Dementia UK (2020) Alzheimer’s disease. Another cause is because of the build-up of proteins the nerve cells cannot pass through signals to the brain which causes interruption of the brain activity and then the nerve tissue eventually dies. Alzheimer’s is also the slowest type of dementia to form and it can be early and rapid deterioration in the brain if you are under 65. Also, if you have certain health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, downs syndrome, untreated depression, hearing loss or have had serious head injuries you may be at high risk for Alzheimer’s. Another cause is if you have a family history of Alzheimer’s. NHS (2018) Causes Alzheimer’s disease. Vascular dementia is caused by a reduction of blood to the brain if the blood vessels leak or become blocked. Another cause is an individual’s lifestyle choices such as if they smoke, drink alcohol, not physically active or have poor diet choices. Cerebral atherosclerosis is another cause, and it happens when vessels in the brain become blocked by calcium deposits, fats and cholesterol. Also, vascular dementia can be causes by some health conditions such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes and atrial fibrillation which is when you have an irregular heartbeat. NHS (2020) Causes Vascular dementia. One cause of Frontotemporal dementia is caused by clumps of abnormal proteins that form and build up in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain and theses stop the brain cells working properly and damage them. Also, other causes may be if you have a family history of this type of dementia as its more common to run through families and also you can have a genetic test to see if you are at risk of this disease. .
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One of the common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease is memory loss such as losing or misplacing items they need for their day to day activities. Also, they can be repetitive and become confused when they are having a conversation with others like as asking the same questions or asking others who they are as they may forget who they are talking to and what they’re talking about. Another symptom is mood swings as some individuals may become violent or have burst of anger which they could be a danger to others or themselves. They can also become sad or may even lead to depression which is another symptom that others may recognise for someone who has Alzheimer’s. individuals with Alzheimer’s can also have a loss of interest in activities they do at home or in the community. This may lead to social isolation or depression. In the middle stage of Alzheimer’s individuals may have symptoms such as increased confusion and disorientation, obsessive and impulsive behaviour they would not normally act like, paranoid, sleep disturbances, hallucinations and difficulty performing tasks as their brain cells are deteriorating which make they forget simple tasks such as eating or drinking. The later stages of Alzheimer’s are difficulty eating and swallowing, mobility problems, weight loss as they may not be eating as much as they may not be able to feed or drink themselves and this would be a loss of independence, verbal problems and worsened short term and long term memory loss. NHS (2018) Symptoms Alzheimer’s disease. One of the symptoms for Vascular dementia is memory loss. This is the most common symptoms for some types of dementia. Another symptom is mood swings this might be anger or frustration in your individual’s may become depressed or overly happy. Also, individuals may have mobility problems such as they cannot move without equipment or others to help them and they may have slower movements when walking. Other symptoms of vascular dementia are verbal problems and Visio spatial problems. This means individuals will have difficulty talk and their sight as they may misjudge objects in their surroundings. In the later stage of vascular dementia individuals may become disorientated and have severe personality changes such as becoming aggressive they also may have difficulty controlling their bladder and they might have difficulty performing daily activities. There are many different types of symptoms for Frontotemporal dementia such as behaviour and personality changes. This means that an individual can become distant or rude, lose interest in activities or hobbies and they may become socially isolated or withdrawn. This means that they could become lonely have develop depression. Another symptom is language problems this means that people may use words incorrectly or have a loss of vocabulary, start to repeat sentences or they may get words in the wrong order. Also, this can worsen as some people may have difficulty making the right sounds for each word and they can gradually become mute as their dementia worsens. Another symptom is mental ability problems such as poor planning and judgement, becoming easily distracted and losing the ability to understand. They also can have memory difficulties such as recognising people, places or objects. Individuals may have physical symptoms such as slower movements or loss of bladder and bowel control. NHS (2020) Symptoms frontotemporal dementia.
Alzheimer’s disease is identified by its symptoms as they are related to how doctors or specialists diagnose the disease to individuals. Although as Alzheimer’s has lots of different symptoms which other type of dementia have so doctors must rule out symptoms that do not identify as Alzheimer’s disease. They do this by doing tests such as mental ability tests by using the patient’s memory and thinking skills to assess them. The individual will have different activities which include using their short term and long term memory as this can assess what they can remember in a short periods of time such as conversations and their what they can remember from their childhood or years ago, concentration and attention span this will help the professionals see if they can do the activity without getting distracted. They will also test their language and communication skills as some individuals may have difficulty pronouncing words or phrases when having and conversation. Also, they will test the individual’s visuospatial ability’s as they may not be aware of objects around them as they may have difficulty seeing them which means they cannot judge how far away or close they are to things. Others tests they use to rule out symptoms of Alzheimer’s is a CT scan, MRI scan. NHS (2018) Diagnosis Alzheimer’s disease [Accessed 12/10/20]. Also, they will ask you questions about your symptoms and on your general health and history of medical symptoms or conditions. They will also do a physical check-up as Alzheimer’s can cause weight gain or loss as they may have difficulty eating or they are eating too much.
Vascular dementia is diagnosed by having different brain scans such a CT scan and an MRI scan this is helpful for the doctors as they can rule out any other conditions that might not be Vascular dementia. They also might refer the individual to a memory clinic which they will ask about your symptoms and give you a physical check-up. Some of the symptoms that they will look for is slower movements and thoughts when asking question and trouble understanding what they are talking about and if they have any problems with their memory or language skills. Also, when the specialist does their physical check-up, they will look for visuospatial problems which means that patient may have trouble being aware of the objects around them when moving around. Also, the doctors will have to ask about medical history such as strokes or high blood pressure because these are some causes of vascular dementia. Alzheimer’s Research UK (2020) Diagnosis. Frontotemporal dementia can be diagnosed in series of different ways such as an assessment of symptoms, assessment of mental abilities, blood tests, brain scans such as MRI, CT or a PET scan which helps rule out other problems with the brain, and a lumbar puncture this is to test the spinal fluid that surrounds the brain and spine. They do this to assess and rule out if the patient has Alzheimer’s disease. Doctors will assess the patient’s symptoms as there is many for FTD one is behaviour and personality changes. This means individuals may become impulsive or rude and not be aware they are changing their behaviour. Also, they will assess the individual’s mental abilities as they may become easily distracted or losing the ability to understand things. Also, another symptom they may pick up on is memory difficulties when doing the tests.
Alzheimer’s has effects on reasoning and communication as individuals may have difficulty finding the right words or phrases and making the right sounds for different words. They also might have sight or hearing impairments which can make it more difficult for them to communicate. As individuals have Alzheimer’s they may have mood swings which can change the way they talk to others as they may come across cold or distant as they can behave in these ways without being aware of it. It can also have effects on information processing. This means that an individual may have difficulties with different mental abilities such as concentrating this means they may find it hard carrying out simple daily activities, planning and organising this effects them as they may have a hard time keeping track of events or appointment they need to attended to. Also, they may have trouble recognising places when they go out which means they could become disorientated and not understand what they are doing. The next thing Alzheimer’s can effect is sleeplessness and restlessness this can make an individual become impulsive or distracted. This can also affect an individual physically as they can become in pain or discomfort, needing the toilet more often and problems with their environment. This can affect them mentally as they can become anxious and have no stimulation to move all day as they may have had a job where they moved around a lot. Another thing that Alzheimer’s can an effect on is a person’s behaviour. Another behaviour that it can cause is aggression and anger as they can be having physical discomfort, lack of sleep, being hungry or thirsty or their medications can have side affects that can cause this behaviour. Also anger or aggression may be caused as the individual may become overwhelmed as they could be sensitive to loud noises or large crowds. One of the behaviours is anxiety and agitation. They may be agitated as they may be moving to another care facility which might mean they may be anxious about a new environment and people they do not know and as well becoming tired or restless may make the individuals confused and agitated. Alzheimer’s can also influence anxiety and agitation as a person’s might not understand about what they are doing or where they are and meant to be doing. Another behaviour this can cause is sundowning. Sundowning is when a person becomes agitated and confused either in the later afternoon or evening. This is caused by a range of things such too much or a lack of sleep, mediations they are taking or having a disturbance to the personas body clock and this may make them act out aggressively. Alzheimer’s can affect’s a person’s movement.
This will have a physical impact on a person’s mobility as their brain starts to deteriorate more in the later stages of the condition. This means that the person will beginning to have difficulty walking or moving around their home or in the community then they will start to lose the ability to walk, stand or get themselves up from a chair or their bed. This could mean that they might feel they are losing their independent and it can have an affect on their emotional wellbeing. Also, it means they are at a higher risk for falling over and injuring themselves. These problems may be caused by things such as medication, loss of sight, problems balancing and the environment. Although not all people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s will have difficulty with their mobility they may stand or sit in one spot for a long period of time. Finally, Alzheimer’s may influence an individual’s physical and mental health such as causing anxiety, fear and depression. This may affect a person as it may cause anxiety which means they will feel tired, irritable or struggling to concentrate, restless and pace or fidget. Alzheimer’s will also change a person with anxiety’s behaviour as they can become agitated for long periods of time and an individual may be constantly asking for reassurance about something or they will be asked to be left alone. Also, this condition can have an effect on someone’s fear as they may be scared to open up or express themselves properly or communicate with others this might make them lose confidence and lower their self esteem and become anxious, depressed or feel withdrawn. Also, this condition can have an affect on someone’s depression as it can make people have sleep disturbances which means they may become restless or exhausted and have difficulty concentrating and could make them agitated and anxious. They may also be feeling worthless or have low self-confidence as they could be losing their independent and fell like they cannot do anything by themselves anymore. Also, it affects a person’s behaviour with depression as they might become aggressive and refuse to eat or drink because they are so irritated. An individual may be affected physically as they may not be eating which causes weight loss or they become a danger to themselves or others as they depression could worsen because of their Alzheimer’s and they may self-harm or become suicidal.
Vascular dementia has effects on reasoning and communication as individuals will start to have problems sorting out bills and finances and they will become forgetful and develop memory loss. An individual will also have trouble performing their daily activities which could affect their communication to others as they could become confused and disorientated when out in public as this condition can give them verbal problems. This condition also effects a person’s information processing as they can become unaware of their surroundings it can make them become panicked or frustrated and upset. They can also have problems following instructions and simple tasks others give them as an individual can have poor concentration as they process information given slower than people without dementia. Also, people can have difficulty understanding information as their brain is deteriorating. This can make an individual feel frustrated and agitated. The next thing Vascular dementia affects is sleeplessness and restlessness this can make a person have sleep disturbances. This can affect a person negatively as if they become sleep deprived it can affect their body weight and their immune system can become weakened which means they are at high risk for illness. They can also become high risk for respiratory diseases and high blood pressure and because of this they can become stressed and irritable. Restlessness can make an individual feel exhausted and have trouble concentrating and they can be feeling tense and agitated.
Vascular dementia can influence a person’s behaviour as they can seem or act out of character sometimes. They can become anxious about their daily life as they can become repetitive with questions or information. Also, individuals can become depressed which can cause a loss of interest and a lack of motivation to carry out daily activities as they may be restless or overwhelmed and lack initiative to perform tasks and they can develop mood swings. Vascular dementia can affect a person’s movement as they may have suffered from a stroke. This means that they may have slower movements and having difficulty judging then depth and breadth of objects as they can become unaware of the surroundings in their environment. This can have an effect on an individual’s emotional wellbeing as they may feel they are losing their independence as their mobility is deteriorating. Finally, vascular dementia can affect and cause an individual to develop anxiety, fear and depression. This can affect a person’s anxiety as their dementia services it can be worsened because individuals can become confused and have a lack of motivation and also they can refuse to eat and drink which can impact their body weight and health. Individuals can also begin to self-neglect themselves if they are not in a cared for or they are not in a care facility. Also, vascular dementia can have effects on depression because individuals may be fully aware they have dementia which can lead to depression and anxiety as they may fear about what others think about them will this condition or they may be fearful of the future.
Frontotemporal dementia has an effect on a person’s reasoning and communication as they may develop language problems. This suggests that individuals will have trouble making the sounds for the right words, getting words in the wrong order, using words or phrases incorrectly and they may speak slowly. Individuals can begin to become frustrated, confused or anxious as the condition can have affects of their behaviour and mental health as well. Information processing is also affected with this type of dementia. This means patients will have problems with their mental abilities such as getting distracted easily which means they have poor concentration, struggling with planning and organisation such as keeping track of appointments or events. Also, memory problems will start to happen as the condition progresses and becomes more severe. Next, frontotemporal dementia can have an effect on sleeplessness and restlessness as this type of dementia can change and alter the patients sleep patterns. Individuals that experience this may be living in a care or nursing home which could mean they are anxious, and this could also affect their sleep. As well as this people who have frontotemporal dementia will develop an advanced sleep phase which means they might fall asleep and waking up later or earlier.
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