The 12 types of dementia (causes, symptoms and treatment)

One of the biggest fears over the years is aging, the loss of figure and aesthetic beauty, since it is synonymous that time is advancing and we cannot return to behind. But a great fear that little is said about is the loss of people's cognitive abilities, which is a possibility that is latent if we do not manage to take proper care of the health of our brain.

Many individuals for various reasons have some type of problem, difficulty or illness cognitive impairment that prevents them from having a regular performance in daily activities, as is the case with dementia. Which, although it is more common in older adults, this can also appear during the younger stages of the life of those who suffer from it, having a degenerative effect that cannot be cured or reversed, but with proper treatment it can stop its progression or make it progress gradual.

Have you heard of dementia before? Did you think it was only limited to the elderly? If you still have doubts on this topic, we invite you to read the following article where we will talk about everything you need to know about dementia.

What is dementia?

It is a type of degenerative, chronic and irreversible deterioration of acquired higher cognitive abilities, which brings severe consequences to the normal performance of the person and in turn affects the quality of life of this. The areas that are damaged are those that are part of intellectual abilities (memory, intelligence, attention, problem solving, etc.).

It is common for us to hear that dementia is part of aging (especially senile dementia) because it is normal to see an old man clueless or somewhat lost in temporal space, but these symptoms are not necessarily part of dementia, since it is not exclusive to old age. Dementia can be part of other cognitive or neurological diseases such as mental retardation, Parkinson's, or brain injuries.

Types of dementia that exist

There are several ways to classify the types of dementia that exist and that you will learn about below.

1. Most representative dementias

They are those that, due to their degenerative effect, cannot be controlled because they will continue to advance over time, but their progress can be slowed down.

1.1. Alzheimer disease

One of the most common types of dementia of all, its initiation period is around 50-60 years of the person's life, starting with small information leaks or blackouts that go into increase. Soon the condition takes over all of the person's motor control, as well as his or her system of information processing, memory search and identification of what is around is.

1.2. Dementia in Parkinson's disease

It does not always happen, but there are cases where people with this condition can develop symptoms of dementia. In this, the damages are located in the areas of attention capacity, motor control and information processing.

1.3. Lewy body dementias

It is one of the most common causes of dementia in elderly people and is caused by the appearance of abnormal protein deposits in the brain. Which interrupt and affect the functions of some neurotransmitters responsible for perception, thought and behavior.

1.4. Senile dementia

Known in DSM 5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) as Disorder Neurocognitive Major, since it occurs exclusively in the elderly population of very old age. advanced. In this there are audiovisual distortions, loss of own abilities, mental confusion, memory loss and disorientation.

1.5. Fronto-temporal dementia

Also called Pick's disease, it consists of a degenerative alteration due to the presence of abnormal bodies that are located in the neurons of the regions of the frontal and temporal lobes. Greatly affecting the personality and mood of the person, this dementia is common at any age, but it generally occurs after 45 years.

1.6. Vascular dementia

It occurs due to the appearance of several episodes or to a cerebrovascular accident, which causes a failure important in the blood supply in a part of the brain and as a consequence the death of neurons occurs in this.

1.7. Binswanger disease

It is considered as a subtype of vascular dementia that is caused by the arterial hypertension and atherosclerosis, which degenerates the white matter of the brain, due to the lack of blood flow and causing the death of neurons. This disease is also known as arteriosclerotic subcortical encephalopathy.

1.8. Multi-infarct dementia

This type of dementia is caused by the appearance of multiple infarcts or cerebral embolisms, which can be asymptomatic but still leave residual infarcted areas.

2. According to the brain areas

In this classification, dementias are located according to the brain area that is most affected by neuronal loss.

2.1. Cortical dementias

In this type of dementia, the area that is most affected is the cerebral cortex (outer layer of the brain) and which is responsible for the most relevant processes of language and memory. Therefore, people with this type of dementia suffer from problems with language comprehension and memory loss.

2.2. Subcortical dementias

In this, the affected parts are those that are below the cortex, that is, the layers a little more internal of the brain and which have the functions of thinking, mental agility, attention span and state of mind. cheer up.

2.3. Mixed dementias

The conditions occur in both regions, which is why it is called corticosubcortical damage. These being the most common that are manifested in people, both for their symptoms, causes and affected regions.

3. Reversible dementias

This classification of dementia is due to dementias that can be caused by any disease, cognitive impairment, organic abnormality, metabolic disorder or substance use. For which, with the proper treatment and a detoxification process, its effects can be reversed or more serious damage can be prevented.

Causes

As it is a degenerative disease, the origin is in the deterioration or loss of nerve cells and neurological connections in the brain. This damage to neurons is irreversible, but it does not happen suddenly, but it happens over the years. That is why people have serious consequences with their abilities, since they cannot use them again or they cannot do it in a functional way.

However, there are dementias, whose deterioration is caused by substance use and therefore, when the person stops using it, it is possible that they can stop the degeneration of neurons.

Symptoms of dementia

It is necessary to be very attentive to the symptoms of dementia because many times it tends to be confused with some discomfort caused by any disease or as a natural product of old age. So to be sure that the person has dementia, we must bear in mind that it presents as a set of degenerative symptoms, therefore, the discomforts will be in different areas of the development of the person, as we will see continuation.

1. Cognitive disturbances

This is perhaps the most notorious symptomatology, due to the interruption of neuronal functioning, wear or direct death of the synapse. Causing the person to begin to have more and more frequent blackouts up to memory loss, serious concentration problems, dispersion and continuous distraction, Difficulty communicating verbally and maintaining fluency in speaking, spatial disorientation, inability to solve problems and rationalize, difficulty with coordination motor.

2. Psychological changes

These are in the same way as the previous symptoms, the most noticeable in people suffering from dementia, since it is a radical change in their personality and their psychological sense. For example, they have sudden mood swings, they have episodes of depression, irrational fear or anxiety, they maintain inappropriate behavior, they begin to have hallucinations or paranoia.

3. Interpersonal problems

Due to the accumulation of symptoms, the person is increasingly unable to carry out regular activities in society, such as keeping his job or interacting with his peers. Likewise, they begin to isolate themselves and avoid generating contact with others since they cannot express themselves adequately through language.

4. Arrest of independence

Finally, the symptoms not only affect him at the level of the quality of personal relationships, but also affect his personal independence. Because the person cannot perform simple daily tasks (tying shoes, brushing, dressing, cooking, bathing etc.) or they become very complex to do, they tend to temporarily lose their place and forget aspects of their own identity.

Possible treatments

Treatment will largely depend on the level of dementia involvement in each personIn this way, if it is mild and in its early stages, the progression of degeneration can be slowed down by means of medications and activities that help maintain mental alertness, both with the intention of avoiding loss of abilities cognitive.

In the case of substance abuse dementia, the subject usually improves significantly when he completely stops using and begins his period of detoxification. In turn, it is possible to treat some of the damage caused by the appearance of dementia due to brain injuries or some disorder of the body.

With adequate information and adequate attention to changes in the person, dementia can be controlled or in such a case, offer the patient a better quality of life.

Bibliographic references

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Fifth edition. DSM-V. Masson, Barcelona.
• Birks J (January 2006). "Cholinesterase inhibitors for Alzheimer's disease". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
• Larson EB, Yaffe K, Langa KM (December 2013). "New insights into the dementia epidemic". The New England Journal of Medicine.
• Santos, J.L.; García, L.I.; Calderón, M.A.; Sanz, L.J.; de los Ríos, P.; Izquierdo, S.; Roman, P.; Hernangómez, L.; Navas, E.; Ladrón, A and Álvarez-Cienfuegos, L. (2012). Clinical psychology. CEDE PIR Preparation Manual, 02. CEDE. Madrid.