"So, what do potential study patients and their concerned family and friends need to know about dementia, along with mild cognitive impairment, that will help them during their discussions with physicians?First, "dementia" is a general term. It is the condition that can result from one or more medical events. Most people are aware that dementia can be caused by a brain disease, such as Alzheimer"s. However, it can also be the side effect of certain types of infections or immune disorders, B vitamin deficiencies, chronic alcoholism, reactions to medications, stroke, poisoning, and traumatic brain injury.Many people fear that the diagnosis of dementia automatically infers Alzheimer"s disease. However, only a complete examination by a physician can determine the root cause.long with Alzheimer"s, the other diseases of the brain most associated with the cause of dementia are frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) and Lewy body disease. Each of these diseases brings characteristic behavior changes and may cause physical changes in the brain that enable physicians to differentiate the cause of dementia.Diagnosis is complex and can be even more difficult because patients sometimes have more than one disease process. When this occurs it is called mixed dementia. Unfortunately at this time, the dementia resulting from these three diseases is not reversible."
Search Mental Health Providers Find Similar Resources