Dementia Overview: Causes and Symptoms

By M. Chris Wolf, PH.D.

A dementia overview or, rather, a comprehensive or general summary of this condition, explains that dementia is not in itself an explicit disease but rather a condition where an individual is experiencing a variety of symptoms. These symptoms affect his social and intellectual abilities to the degree that it impedes daily functioning. Progressive dementia is called Alzheimer's disease.

A dementia overview includes discussion of memory loss as well as impaired language abilities and judgment, according to the Mayo Clinic. When a person is suffering from dementia, this can change his behavior and not for the better.

Dementia is not inevitable. If you eat right and exercise your body and mind regularly, you can postpone and perhaps altogether eliminate cognitive degeneration. Brain atrophy comes with age, but you don't have to accept that. Fight back!

A dementia overview reveals that like the joints in your body, the brain does begin to show signs of wear and tear. It shrinks in size, losing one percent of its volume each year after the age of sixty.

The white brain matter begins to break down around the time a person turns fifty. This matter hosts nerve fibers that send messages from one area of the brain to another. When breakage occurs, message transmission is altered. Brain cells get smaller, which makes it harder for an individual to process information as quickly as he once did.

James Joseph, director of the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, notes that brain neurons are very much like old married couples: They don't talk to each other any more.Keeping the brain healthy and forestalling the onset of dementia requires that you actively use your brain so the neurons remain vigorous and capable of communicating.

The brain needs to be exercised as does the rest of the body. When you keep mentally active, this prevents your brain from atrophying so quickly. A diet that is rich in nutrients in vitamins also helps the brain stay healthy.

Baby Boomers are those who were born in the United States between January 1, 1946 and December 31, 1964. They are the products of soldiers returning from World War II, who married and began producing prodigious amounts of babies.

The oldest Baby Boomers turned 65 in 2011. In fact, in 2011, more than 10,000 Baby Boomers turned 65 every day, and this pattern will continue for the next 19 years, according to The American Dream. The outcome is that there is going to be a huge population of older people that is going to encounter medical problems, including dementia and Alzheimer's.

Continuing research into treatment of dementia and dementia overview, hopefully will find a cure because a large portion of the population will benefit from it.

Visit Memory Test

Also see Forgetful

Also see Memory Testing

Dementia Stages

Mild Cognitive Impairment - What is it?

Visit Dementia Treatment

Alzheimer's Disease Research

See also Alzheimer's Caregiver

Early Onset Dementia and Medication

Important: Medication Communication

What is Vascular Dementia

Review Organic Brain Syndrome

Prevent Dementia: Brain Fitness

Vitamins for Health Memory

For more information about this topic consider these resources:

Dementia: From Diagnosis to Management - A Functional Approach by Michelle S. Bourgeois and Ellen Hickey.

When a Family Member Has Dementia: Steps to Becoming a Resilient Caregiver by Susan M. McCurry.

The 36-Hour Day, 4th edition: The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People with Alzheimer Disease, Other Dementias, and Memory Loss in Later Life, 4th Edition [Paperback] Nancy L. Mace and Peter V. Rabins.

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