Ensuring a Continuum of Care for a Dementia...
15th May 2025
Types of Dementias which Degenerate Rapidly
Types of Dementias which Degenerate Rapidly
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dementia/symptoms-causes/syc-20352013
- “Alzheimer’s Disease. This is the most common cause of dementia.
Although not all causes of Alzheimer’s disease are known, experts do
know that a small percentage are related to changes in three genes.
These gene changes can be passed down from parent to child. While
several genes are probably involved in Alzheimer’s disease, one
important gene that increases risk is Apolipoprotein E4
(APOE). People with Alzheimer’s disease have plaques and tangles in
their brains. Plaques are clumps of a protein called beta-amyloid.
Tangles are fibrous masses made up of tau protein. It’s thought that
these clumps damage healthy brain cells and the fibers connecting
them. - Vascular Dementia. This type of dementia is caused by damage to the vessels that supply blood to the brain. Blood vessel problems can cause stroke or affect the brain in other ways, such as by damaging the fibers in the white matter of the brain. The most common symptoms of vascular
dementia include problems with problem-solving, slowed thinking,
and loss of focus and organization. These tend to be more noticeable
than memory loss. - Lewy Body Dementia. Lewy bodies are balloon-like clumps of protein. They have been found in the brains of people with Lewy body dementia, Alzheimer’s
disease and Parkinson’s disease. Lewy body dementia is one of the
more common types of dementia. Common symptoms include acting
out dreams in sleep and seeing things that aren’t there, known as
visual hallucinations. Symptoms also include problems with focus and
attention. Other signs include uncoordinated or slow movement,
tremors, and stiffness, known as Parkinsonism. - Fronto-temporal Dementia. This is a group of diseases characterized by the breakdown of nerve cells and their connections in the frontal and temporal lobes of the
brain. These areas are associated with personality, behavior and
language. Common symptoms affect behavior, personality, thinking,
judgment, language and movement. - Mixed Dementia. Autopsy studies of the brains of people aged 80 and older who had
dementia indicate that many had a combination of several causes.
People with mixed dementia can have Alzheimer’s disease, vascular
dementia and Lewy body dementia. Studies are ongoing to determine
how having mixed dementia affects symptoms and treatments”.
Other disorders linked to Dementia
Huntington’s disease. Huntington’s disease is caused by a genetic change. The disease
causes certain nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to waste away.
Symptoms include a decline in thinking skills, known as cognitive
skills. Symptoms usually appear around age 30 or 40.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI). This condition is most often caused by repetitive head trauma.
Boxers, football players or soldiers might develop TBI. Dementia
symptoms depend on the part of the brain that’s injured. TBI can
cause depression, explosiveness, memory loss and impaired speech.
TBI also may cause slow movement, tremors and stiffness.
Symptoms might not appear until years after the trauma.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. This rare brain disorder usually occurs in people without known risk
factors. This condition might be due to deposits of infectious proteins
called prions. Symptoms of this fatal condition usually appear after
age 60. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease usually has no known cause but it
can be passed down from a parent. It also may be caused by
exposure to diseased brain or nervous system tissue, such as from a
cornea transplant.
Parkinson’s disease. Many people with Parkinson’s disease eventually develop dementia
symptoms. When this happens, it’s known as Parkinson’s disease
dementia”.
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