Dementia
Dementia (from Latin for mind away) is progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Patients experience deterioration in memory, attention, language and problem solving. In more progressed stages of the condition, affected persons may be disoriented in time (not knowing what day, week, month or year it is), place (not knowing where they are) and person (not knowing who they are). Symptoms of dementia can be classified as either reversible or irreversible depending upon the cause of the disease. Less than 10% of all dementias are reversible. Dementia is a non-specific term that encompasses many disease processes, just as fever is attributable to many causes.
For further information:- The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, provides this site full of information on Dementia.
- The Dementia Information Service for Carers (DISC) offers advice and information to carers of older people who have dementia.
Last modified: 2006-10-18
