Dementia

Dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life. Memory loss is an example. Common type of dementia is Alzheimer's disease, Other common types include vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. Less common causes include normal pressure hydrocephalus, Parkinson's disease, syphilis, and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease among others. There is no known cure for dementia. Globally, dementia affected about 46 million people.

Early stages

The person can usually still take care of him or herself but may forget things like taking pills or doing laundry and may need prompting or reminders. Other signs might be getting lost in new places, repeating things, personality changes, social withdrawal and difficulties at work.

In Alzheimer's dementia the most prominent early symptom is memory difficulty.

Middle stages

People with Alzheimer's dementia in the moderate stages lose almost all new information very quickly. People with dementia may be severely impaired in solving problems, and their social judgment is usually also impaired. hey may be able to do simple chores around the house but not much else, and begin to require assistance for personal care and hygiene other than simple reminders

Late stages

People with late-stage dementia typically turn increasingly inward and need assistance with most or all their personal care. Persons with dementia in the late stages usually need 24-hour supervision to ensure personal safety.

Diagnosis

The symptoms are very similar, and it is usually difficult to diagnose the type of dementia by symptoms. Some mental illnesses, including depression and psychosis, may produce symptoms that must be differentiated from both delirium and dementia. 

• Cognitive Testing
• Laboratory Tests
• Imaging