This is an umbrella term, not a disease in its own right. It is a term used for a large group of symptoms that adversely affect the brain and can be caused by a number of specific diseases. DEMENTIA Dementia is caused be a loss of nerve cells in the brain. Any disease within the category of dementia is progressive.

Progressive: A characteristic of a disease meaning it gradually gets worse. Why is it progressive? …Because nerve cells cannot be replaced. Eventually, your brain shrinks. This is called brain atrophy. Atrophy: a degeneration, or wasting away, of part of the body.

Common symptoms of Dementia: Memory Loss Impaired Cognition Loss of Physical Coordination

The particular symptoms depend upon what area of the brain is being affected by nerve cell loss. Temporal Lobe: difficulties with language Occipital Lobe: difficulties with vision Hippocampus: difficulties with … Memory Brain stem & Cerebellum: basic life functions

Types of Dementia Pick’s Disease Vascular Dementia Frontotemporal Dementia Alzheimer’s Disease

Pick’s Disease: Neurodegenerative disease, so named because the harmful proteins that build up in the brain join together in silvery strands which look like picks. One common symptom: aphasia. Aphasia: loss of ability to speak or understand language. Vascular Dementia: Symptoms of dementia are caused by lack of blood flow to the brain. Frontotemporal Dementia: degeneration of the frontal and temporal lobes causing loss of speech and executive function.

Alzheimer’s Disease Named after Aloysius Alzheimer, the German doctor who first described the disease in depth. Predicted to affect 1 in 85 people globally by Brookmeyer, et al. Forecasting the Global Burden of Alzheimer’s Disease

Steps to the Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease “Plaques” and “tangles” accumulate in the brain and kill brain cells. Begins in the hippocampus causing short-term memory loss. Spreads to other regions of the brain, causing the outward manifestations of later stages of the disease. Eventually, the plaques and tangles affect the brain stem and cerebellum which regulate breathing and other basic functions.

Occipital lobe- visual signals are sent Parietal lobe- concerned with various information from the senses Temporal lobe- concerned with hearing, memory, emotion, and speaking Frontal lobe- concerned with organization, planning, and creative thinking