Houston Elderly Care: Understanding The Neurocognitive Disorder Known As Dementia

A neurocognitive disorder, which had been previously called dementia, describes a variety of disorders that can affect the brain. All neurocognitive disorders create a fixed cognitive decline in any one of the cognitive domains. These disorders can involve issues with reasoning, thinking, problem-solving, and memory. While other forms, such as Parkinson’s disease, have the ability to lead to physical disabilities. There are mild and major neurocognitive disorders, which all depend on how severe the symptoms may impact an individual’s ability to function in a traditional way of life. Some of the underlying factors of neurocognitive disorders may include endocrine and metabolic conditions, substance abuse, nutritional deficiencies, as well as infections. While these types of conditions typically affect those in elderly home care, it is not necessarily a standard part of the aging process. There are many young people who can be affected by these conditions as well. This article is going to examine several types of neurocognitive disorders.

Understanding The Various Forms Of Dementia

1) Alzheimer’s Disease

One of the most common causes of neurocognitive disorders is Alzheimer’s disease. This disease affects 60 to 80% of all the individuals with dementia. In the United States alone, Alzheimer’s affects over 5.5 million individuals. Of this number, almost 200,000 of these people are under the age of 65 years. The early stages of Alzheimer’s find people having a hard time to remember names, conversations, as well as recent events. In some cases, they may experience bouts of depression. Over time, they find that it becomes much more difficult to communicate in the judgment is often impaired. These people feel confused and disoriented throughout the day. Physical activities such as walking and swallowing become more of a challenge, and they may exhibit odd behaviors.

2) Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

This type of condition is one that represents a number of brain diseases that cause problems throughout the entire body. It is believed to be triggered by prion proteins. A prion is not considered bacteria or a virus, yet it has the ability to cause a disease. There are several forms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease most notably mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy Some of the symptoms of this disease include changes in movement, memory, and behavior at a rapid pace. While this is a rare condition it is also fatal.

3) Dementia With Lewy Bodies

The symptoms of this disease many times resemble that of Alzheimer’s, however it may also include unsteady walking patterns, visual hallucinations, as well as sleep disturbances. Lewy bodies are proteins that can be found within nerve cells that prevent them from working correctly.

4) Frontotemporal Dementia

This type of conditioning people will alter the way they relate to others as well as their behavior. In addition, it may cause problems with movement and language as well Frontotemporal dimension is usually found in individuals over the age of 60 years, however, it has been known to show up in people in their 20s. This condition causes the loss of many nerve cells.

5) Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is another serious motor system disorder. The typical symptoms of this disease include trembling of the body, especially in the hands. In many cases, it also leads to behavioral changes and depression. In the late stages of this disease, the individual may have trouble with sleep and speaking.

6) Huntington’s Disease

Huntington’s disease is a genetic disorder resulting from an error found in chromosome four. This disease can lead to abnormal movements, depression, and the changes. In addition, the individual may experience a decline in the thinking process and reasoning skills. They may also have issues with coordination and slurred speech. The disease is prominent in individuals between the ages of 30 and assistinghands.com/50/seven-stages-of-dementia-and-houston-assisted-living”>the 7 stages of dementia click here.

7) Mixed Dementia

Mixed dementia is the process where the condition is due to more than one cause. An example of this would be an individual suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

8. Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

This condition happens when there is a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid that leads to a buildup of pressure in the brain. Symptoms of this condition include movement problems, urination control issues, and memory loss. All this can happen to individuals of any age, it is much more typical among the elderly population.

9) vascular Dementia

This condition is also known as post-stroke dementia and usually happens after an individual has suffered a stroke with bleeding or vessel blockage within the brain. This will affect an individual’s physical movements as well as thinking. Some of the early stages of this condition according to the Alzheimer’s Association involve an inability to make decisions, organize, or plan.

10. Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

This condition is a direct result of a chronic deficiency of thiamine or vitamin B1. It is most prevalent in individuals who chronically abuse alcohol. The effects of alcohol addiction in conjunction with the poor diet are major contributions. The number one symptom of this condition is a severely impaired memory, which includes long-term memory gaps where the individual tries to fill in the gaps with incorrect information. The unintentional lien that is associated with this condition is known as confabulation.

If you would like to speak with an Elderly Care Houston professional, contact us today by giving us a call.  To learn more about Elderly Care Houston services, check out our website and our blog.