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Everything You Need to Know About Dementia in Men

Dan Mcgowan

Dementia develops as a result of deterioration in the brain’s cognitive function. For any condition to be categorized as dementia, mental decline would partially affect two or more brain functions.

This condition can affect:

This condition isn’t recognized as an illness, but various diseases can imitate it. Mental impairment can be mild or severe, and it can lead to changes in a man’s personality. Some dementia tends to be progressive; that is, they worsen with time.

Dementia can sometimes be reversible and treatable. Experts limit the word ‘dementia’ to mean a chronic, mental deterioration that can’t be reversed.

Symptoms of dementia

In the early stages of dementia, these symptoms are likely to occur:

Poor adaptation skills

Having a difficult time with accepting changes that occur in your life or surrounding is a symptom of dementia.

Mild changes in thinking (temporary)

This is a condition whereby you can recall a past event from fifteen years ago, but cannot think back on what you ate for breakfast.

Finding correct phrases

Recalling or linking of words becomes difficult or tedious.

Being repetitive

This occurs when you repeat activities or events you have already done, like asking related questions again, completing a particular task over again, or even telling the similar stories over again.

Disconcertion

You begin to forget routes of places you were familiar with, and they begin to appear foreign.

Difficulty in paying attention to storylines

You begin to find tales or explanations complicated or hard to understand.

Mood switch

Moods like depression, anxiety, rage, and irritation are widespread among people who have dementia.

Lack of enthusiasm

The lack of interest in certain activities or events is closely related to dementia.

Confusion

You begin to get confused over crowds, venues, and celebrations that were once recognizable. You may not even recognize people who are closely related to you. However, memory loss is not a criteria to diagnose if you have dementia.

Stages of dementia

Most times, dementia is known to be progressive; it gets worse as time progresses.

However, the progression of dementia in men differs; and a larger percentage of men generally go through these stages:

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI)

Old individuals are more likely to experience MCI, and it may never develop into dementia or result in a decline mentally.

People who experience mild cognitive impairment usually experience difficulty in remembering words, temporary memory loss, and forgetfulness.

Mild dementia

Most men who have this stage of dementia can still function independently.

Some of the symptoms include:

Moderate dementia

This is the phase where the individuals cannot function independently and thereby require the help of a care provider or loved one. This is because dementia begins to restrict them from carrying out everyday activities and duties effectively.

Symptoms may include:

Acute dementia

This is the last stage of dementia, and at this point the physical and mental health declines rapidly.

Symptoms may include:

Men who have dementia tend to pass through the above-mentioned phases of dementia at distinctive paces.

What causes dementia?

Numerous factors can result in you developing dementia. Generally, it occurs as a result of the deterioration of neurons (brain cells) or other disturbances in the body system that negatively disturbs how the neurons work.

Various conditions can result in the development of dementia in men, for instance, the brain’s diseases. The most known causes are vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Neurodegenerative is a condition where the neurons slowly stop functioning and would eventually die. This directly hurts the neuro-to-neuro connections known as synapses.

Synapses are the passageway through which messages are conveyed in the brain. The disconnection of the synapses can lead to series of dysfunction.

Other causes of dementia are:

Additionally, frontotemporal lobar degeneration can result in dementia; it is a significant term for various diseases that cause severe damages to the brain’s temporal and frontal lobes, such as:

Further causes of dementia

Dementia can also be as a result of other health conditions, such as:

However, a few of these dementias can be treated successfully. These treatable causes of dementia can be reversed if they are detected on time and treated immediately and effectively.

This is why it is paramount that you see a doctor if you begin to experience any dementia symptoms.

Types of dementia

Dementia can be caused by underlying health conditions. Different types of conditions bring about diverse forma of dementia.

The most known form of dementia includes:

Alzheimer’s disease

This is considered the most common of all dementias. Alzheimer’s disease constitutes for about sixty to eighty percentage of worldwide dementia occurrence.

Vascular dementia

This dementia occurs when there is a decrease in the flow of blood throughout the body/brain. It can result from excess plaque in arteries that circulate blood to the brain or as a result of stroke.

Lewy body dementia

If proteins are deposited on the nerve cells, it causes the brain to cease conveying chemical signals. This leads to lost messages, memory loss, and delayed reactions.

Parkinson’s disease

Men suffering from a case of advanced Parkinson’s disease are likely to develop dementia.

Frontotemporal dementia

There are various forms of dementia that fall under this category. They are negatively influenced by alterations in the side and front sections of the brain. Symptoms may include complexity with interacting, behavior and deficiency of inhibitions.

Dementia testing

There isn’t a defined test that can diagnose if you have dementia, however, your doctor can conduct several tests to diagnose dementia.

Such as:

Health care providers can undoubtedly detect if you or your loved ones are going through dementia symptoms. However, it is a difficult task to diagnose the form of dementia you might be suffering from.

The types and symptoms of dementia can at times be so similar, and this makes determining the kind of dementia complicated.

Some doctors tend to identify dementia without spelling out the particular type. In cases like this, you should visit a doctor who defines in diagnosing and treating dementia, they are known as neurologists.

Dementia treatment

There are two known primary treatments used to reduce signs of dementia: non-medication therapies and medications.

Non-medication therapies

They aid in reducing the indicators of dementia and treat few of the complications associated with it.

Some of these non-medication therapies include:

Adjusting your environment

Untidiness, overstimulation, and noise may reduce your focus.

Altering daily activities

You can seek advice from a therapist or doctor to breakdown your daily activities, such as grooming or showering into convenient tasks.

Occupational therapy

Your health care provider or therapists can advise you on ways to be protected when doing certain activities like, cooking, driving, and walking.

Medications for dementia

There are two types of medications that are used to treat symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

They include:

Cholinesterase inhibitors

These drugs aid in increasing a chemical called acetylcholine. This chemical is responsible for the forming of memory and improvement of judgment. It also restricts the worsening of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Memantine

This drug is used mainly to disrupt the onset of cognitive and behavioral symptoms in individuals with severe or moderate Alzheimer’s disease.

Dementia prevention

Various factors can aid in the development of dementia in men, such as:

Researchers claim that by attacking these factors individually and avoiding most of them, you can prevent the development of dementia.

Dementia life expectancy

Persons who are suffering from dementia can live years after they have been diagnosed. It seems that dementia is not a severe condition because of this. However, when dementia reaches its last stage, it becomes terminal and life-threatening.

Certain factors contribute to the high risk of dementia in men which may even result in death, such as:

Conclusion

Dementia is known as the decline in the underlying cognitive functioning of an individual. Dementia is a mental impairment that can be caused by various conditions such as Alzheimer’s and even Parkinson’s disease.

However, dementia can be reversed through the use of medications or non-therapy methods.