Library · Disease
Dementia
Make it clearer
Dementia is a decline in memory and other cognitive abilities, the ones we use to think, understand and solve problems. The DSM-5, the standard reference manual for mental disorders, now calls it major neurocognitive disorder. The decline is severe enough that it makes it hard for the person to carry out everyday activities.
On the inside, what happens is that neurons that used to be healthy stop working, lose their connections with other brain cells and die. Think of the wiring in a house where the light bulbs start to flicker, the wires connecting them come loose and some bulbs end up burned out.
Dementia can have different causes. The most common is Alzheimer's disease, with amyloid plaques and tau tangles, buildups of two proteins in the brain. Others include vascular dementia, which results from ischemic injury, meaning a lack of blood flow; Lewy body dementia, with aggregates of a protein called alpha-synuclein; and frontotemporal dementia, with deposits of the proteins TDP-43 and tau.
In brief
Dementia, which the DSM-5 now calls major neurocognitive disorder, is a decline in memory and other cognitive abilities severe enough to interfere with daily activities.
Its signs and symptoms appear when once-healthy neurons stop working, lose connections with other brain cells and die.
Causes include Alzheimer's disease, the most common, with amyloid plaques and tau tangles; vascular dementia, from ischemic injury; Lewy body dementia, with alpha-synuclein aggregates; and frontotemporal dementia, with TDP-43 and tau deposits.
Sources (2)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingMajor Neurocognitive Disorder (Dementia), StatPearlsPublished
- National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of HealthWhat Is Dementia? Symptoms, Types, and Diagnosis, NIAPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated