What Are the Symptoms of Dementia and How is it Diagnosed

Dementia does not refer to one particular disease but to a number of different conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The thing that all of the different dementia conditions have in common is that they all produce a decline in the mental abilities of the individual. This can be a very distressing condition not only for the person experiencing the mental decline but also for those who love them as well. It has been claimed that spotting the symptoms of dementia early can mean a much better quality of life later; some types of dementia can be completely cured while other can be managed well.

What are the Symptoms of Dementia?

The exact symptoms of dementia will depend on the underlying cause and the part of the brain that is being most affected. The type of dementia will also determine the speed at which the symptoms appear and the rate at which further deterioration occurs. Here are just some of the things that might be indicative of some type of dementia.

- A change in personality

- Feeling paranoid

- Finding it difficult to communicate/ speaking less than usual

- Developing compulsive behaviors

- Hearing voices or having visual hallucinations

- Having deluded ideas about themselves or others

- Easily flustered

- Memory loss/ unable to remember new information

- Aggressive behavior

- Appears to be all "fingers and thumbs" - frequent accidents

- Difficult to reason with

- Unable to find the right words when communicating

- Loss of interest in personal cleanliness

- Insomnia or disturbed sleep patterns

- Moves slower than usual

The symptoms of dementia can easily be mistaken for something else, and with some forms the decline can occur quite slowly and might be missed. A real difficulty is that many people with dementia will not notice the symptoms themselves.

How is Dementia Diagnosed?

It can sometimes be difficult for medical professions to confirm a diagnosis of dementia in the early stages. They will need to rule out other causes first of all. If a person is suspected of having the symptoms of dementia then the following tests are usually required;

- A full medical and social history so that the doctor can establish what might be causing the problem and to learn more about the development of the symptoms. The doctor will also be interested in any medication the individual is taken or has recently stopped - in a significant proportion of cases the cause can be a reaction to a drug so this needs to be ruled out.

- A mental assessment to see where any deficiencies might be.

- Blood work to see if there is any evidence of abnormalities.

- A MRI scan to check for any abnormalities to the brain.

A diagnosis of dementia can be very upsetting, but once it is detected it will then be possible to consider treatment options.

Sources

Mayo Clinic - Dementia (accessed 15^th July 2010)

NHS - Dementia (accessed 15^th July 2010)

Web MD - Alzheimer's Disease and Other Forms of Dementia (accessed 15^th July 2010)