Senile dementia: what it is, symptoms and treatment

Senile dementia is characterized by a progressive and irreversible loss of intellectual functions, such as altered memory, reasoning and language and loss of the ability to perform movements and to recognize or identify objects.

Senile dementia occurs most frequently from the age of 65 and is a major cause of disability in the elderly. Loss of memory means that the person is unable to orient himself in time and space, losing himself easily and having difficulty recognizing the people closest to him, leaving him less and less able to understand what is going on around him.

What symptoms

There are several symptoms of senile dementia, and they depend on the cause of the disease and may even take years to manifest. The most common symptoms are as follows:

• Loss of memory, confusion and disorientation; Difficulty in understanding written or verbal communication; Difficulty in making decisions; Difficulty in recognizing family and friends; Forgetting common facts, such as the day they are in; Alteration of personality and critical sense; Agitation and walking at night; Lack of appetite, weight loss, urinary and fecal incontinence; Loss of orientation in known environments; Movements and repetitive speech; Difficulty in driving, shopping alone, cooking and performing personal care;

All of these symptoms lead the person to a progressive dependence and can cause depression, anxiety, insomnia, irritability, distrust, delusions and hallucinations in some people.

Possible causes

The causes that can lead to the development of senile dementia are:

1. Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease is a disease in which progressive degeneration of brain neurons occurs and impaired cognitive functions, such as memory, attention, language, orientation, perception, reasoning and thinking. Know the warning signs for this disease.

The causes are not yet known, but studies suggest a hereditary factor, especially when it starts in middle age.

2. Dementia with vascular origin

It has a faster onset, being associated with multiple cerebral infarctions, usually accompanied by high blood pressure and strokes. Brain impairment is most evident in complex attention, for example, processing speed and frontal executive functions, such as movement and emotional response. Find out what causes stroke and how to avoid it.

3. Dementia caused by medications

There are medications that, taken regularly, can increase the risk of developing dementia. Some examples of drugs that can increase this risk, if taken too often are antihistamines, sleeping pills, antidepressants, drugs used in heart or gastrointestinal problems and muscle relaxants.

4. Other causes

There are other diseases that can lead to the development of senile dementia, such as dementia with Lewy bodies, Korsakoff syndrome, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Pick's disease, Parkinson's disease and brain tumors.

Check out more details about Lewy body dementia, which is one of the most common causes.

What is the diagnosis

The diagnosis of senile disease is usually made with a complete blood count, kidney, liver and thyroid function tests, serum levels of vitamin B12 and folic acid, serology for syphilis, fasting glucose, computed tomography of the skull or magnetic resonance imaging.

The doctor should also carry out a complete medical history, tests to assess memory and mental status, assess the degree of attention and concentration and the problem-solving skills and level of communication.

The diagnosis of senile dementia is made by excluding other diseases that have similar symptoms.

How the treatment is done

Treatment for senile dementia at an early stage includes medications, such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, antidepressants, mood stabilizers or neuroleptics, and physiotherapy and occupational therapy treatments, as well as appropriate family and caregiver guidance.

Currently, the most suitable option is to keep the senile dementia patient in a favorable and familiar environment, making him / her active, participating as much as possible in daily and communication activities, in order to preserve the individual's abilities.