Dementia: Causes, Risk Factors, and New Treatments

This study explains the harmful effects of dementia and the risk factors that contribute to its development. It discusses the impact of age, restricted blood flow, and other factors on dementia. The study also explores drug therapy as an effective treatment for dementia.

DEMENTIA

Executive summary
Dementia is one of the leading cause of death among old age people and has grown
across the world from past few years. This study mainly explains harmful effects of the dementia
that affects the old age people worldwide and the risk factors which leads to its development.
The major factor due to which dementia arise is the age. With the growing age, people began to
lose their memory. Besides this, restricted blood flow generally increases the chances to develop
dementia in old people. Drug therapy is considered as the most effective treatment wherein
people are kept under medication and given some drug which increases the blood flow to the
brain.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Dementia is basically the disorder wherein individual looses its capacity to remember a
and thus affects their normal cognitive functioning. This disorder ranges from mild to the severe
stage where individual completely looses the ability to remember anything and this might even to
the death. The major factor which contributes to the development of this disorder is the age. It is
generally seen in the people who are of or who have crossed the age of 65 years. Although it is
also seen in the children who mainly lives in underprivileged area due to lack of proper nutrition
but it predominately affects the older people. The number of incidence of dementia has taken a
sharp turn from past few years and has been reported in large number of people. There are
generally different types of dementia which affects different group of people. The symptoms of
this disorder ranges from simple headache to the loss of memory. The major cause of the
dementia is Alzheimer's disease that mostly develops in the older people. It not only affects the
brain of an individual but also affect their physical health which includes skin irritation, spots on
the body etc. The main purpose of this report is to know the various risks factors behind
dementia and understand its harmful effects to design strategy that could reduce its prevalence.
This report mainly gives a brief about risk factors of dementia, chances of acquiring
dementia and developing the new treatments.
MAIN BODY
Overview of dementia
Dementia is basically the loss of the cognitive functioning like thinking, remembering as
well as reasoning and the behavioural abilities in such a manner that it usually interferes with the
daily life of person and hiders their activities (Livingston and et.al.,2017). The functions mainly
includes memory, visual perceptions, self-management, language skills etc. The people suffering
from dementia are not able to control their emotions and thus their personality tend to fluctuate.
It has become of the leading disorder across the world that has surrounded not only adults but
even the children. It usually ranges from the mildest stage to most and highly severe stage.
Risk factors in dementia
Dementia is considered as one of the fatal disease which not only lead to the change in
personality of an individual but also sometimes leads to death. It mainly increases the risk over
the health and mid of individuals and affect the normal functioning of their brain. Thus, there are

various risk factors which have trapped the entire world in this dangerous disorder (Woods and
et.al.,2018).
Depression
Dementia and depression share a very complex relation and which is unbreakable and
hence transform the lives of individuals. Depression is considers as the one of the most
prominent risk factor that is the main cause of dementia. Depression is mainly the early sign in
Dementia which means when the dementia began to develop, individual seems to be under
depression. People who remain under depression tend to withdraw themselves from the social
contact and thus this eventually accelerates their mental deterioration. According to many
researchers, being isolated is the main cause of depression which affects the brain to great extent.
Therefore, this often leads to dementia where people began to forget various things as this affect
their mental functioning. Because of the depression, the personality of the individual changes
and they began to become irritated. This is the first sign of dementia which is seen among
individual prior to its development (T O'Brien and Thomas, 2015).
Age
Age is considered as the prominent and the biggest risk factor which results in different
types of impedimenta. According to the report of World health organization, once the individual
hit the age of 65, then the risk of developing dementia usually doubles. After 65, the probability
of dementia increase in every five year and thus its intensity raises to the great extent. According
to Disease control and prevention centre, the dementia is mainly seen in people of old age and
this is the reason that the ratio is much less in children as compared to old aged people. As per
the report of 2017, it has been noted that 1 out of ever 20 people who are suffering from
dementia developed this disorder at the starting age of 65. As the people starts getting older, The
intensity of its development reaches to the great level (Jung, 2015).
Cardiovascular diseases
This is the another risk factor which results in the development of Dementia. The
healthcare professionals and experts suggest that five million people across the entire world who
suffers from heart related diseases like blood pressure, cholesterol develops the chances of
dementia and hence their normal brain activities got hindered. The blood vessels which are
connected from heart to brain often supply blood to the brain and thus helps in the performing its
activities effectively. But when an individual develops some heart disease then these blood

vessels get constricted due to which enough blood is not available to the brain. This leads to the
emergence of Dementia (Forbes and et.al.,2015).
Diabetes
This is the another risk factor which leads to this disorder. Mostly the middle-aged people
who suffers from diabetes are seen to have lower mental capacity. According to the report of
2018, more than 40% of the population having diabetes have been witnessed to have developed
dementia. This is due to the reason that when blood sugar increases then the mental capacity
decreases due to restricted blood flow. This leads to dementia.
What affect the chances of getting dementia
There are various factors which are affecting the chance of getting dementia. Dementia is
affected by the way of the high blood reassure and stress and trauma as well.
High blood pressure
High blood pressure is linked to most common problems in the body. Scientist and
doctors have claimed that the high blood pressure is the factor which would affect the dementia
people. High blood pressure is increasing the protein in the brain and so it would damage the
blood vessel damage. It would not affect the people which are at the young age but the people
which have stressed the age of the 50 so it would affect them (Chan, 2018). At the young age it
would affect the brain health but the proteins are not built in the necessary situations. High blood
pressure is affecting the blood vessels and the brain architecture as well. Women which are
suffered from the blood pressure problem have the changes of getting dementia in the future.
High blood pressure is affecting the blood systems of the brain which can affect the neuron
activity in the brain.
Repaired blow to the head
In the case of the brain injury it would affect the dementia because the major illness in
the body is increasing due to the important function of the brain. Traumatic brain injury would
result in the repaired blow in the head and so it would affect the chances of the getting the
dementia. Mild head injuries would not increase the dementia but in the case of the severe head
injury it would result in the increase in the cases of getting the dementia (Mitchell, 2015). Brain
injure take time to recover and also they are not recovered easily so the brain injury is resulting
in the increase in the chances of dementia. In case of the severe head injury and the loss of the

consciousness is the major problem for increasing the dementia. So in these types of the case the
dementia is increasing after the late life.
May also start disease earlier of hormone changes
These hormonal changes are affecting the dementia at the large scale because it is
incinerating the Alzheimer as well. Hormonal change is the cause of the increasing the every
problem in the body. In the older woman and man the changes of getting the dementia is
increasing because body would not have the immunity to fight the disease. In the initial stage of
the dementia the cognitive and the functional skills are affected and later the behavior of the
individual is affected. The change is the brain and the Hormonal changes are affecting the body
and the brains as well (Prince and et.al.,2016). Estrogen is an important element for functioning
of the brain due to the hormonal changes the brain is affected. Some estrogen are produced by
the tissue and the glands as well. The body is also forming the testosterone and it can be
converted easily to the estrogen but the conversion rate is low which is up to the 0.2%.
Psychological stress and obesity
Obesity is the major problem which is affecting the stress and the body at the large level.
Stress would affect the body and the brain and so the due to the stress the changes of getting the
dementia is increased. The psychologist have stated that the patient must be stress free for living
the life and for enjoying the life. Stress is the major reason for the strokes. The people which are
dealing with the obesity would on the exercise and so the obesity would not affect their
performance at the large level (Prins and Scheltens, 2015). Exercise would decrease the risk of
getting the diseases like the dementia and the high blood pressure problems as well. Exercise
would have the effect in the long term benefits which are resulting in improve in the quality of
the life and the activities would be changes as well.
Condition of the new treatments
These new treatment would result in the decrease In the changes of getting the dementia
as well. The doctors are using the latest treatment techniques for curing the patients. Light
therapy is used by the doctors for curing the patient which are dealing with these problems
(Robinson, Tang and Taylor, 2015). Drug and therapies are tested on the patient and looked that
the body is accepting the drugs. These would decrease the chances of getting the severe
problems. Magnetic and the stimulation techniques are used by the curing the people which are
dealing with these problems.

CONCLUSION
From the above report it would be said that the dementia is increasing in the people, and
they are suffering the various problems. Dementia is the condition in which the people are
dealing the memory problems, and they are not able to recollect anything. There are various
factors which are efficient the dementia like the high blood pressure and the hormonal changes
in the body. These would affect the individual body and the due to the every problem of the is
connected to the brain. So there greater changes of getting the dementia in the later age. Stress
and trauma is the result due to the which the dementia is increasing continuously. Nowadays
people are dealing with the stress in and trauma in their daily life. So this stress and trauma is
increasing the changes for getting dementia. People are developing their daily activities, and
they are saving the time for the exercise. Exercise and the calm nature of the people would affect
their daily activities and due to the regular exercise they would have the healthy body as well. So
people would not get the dementia at the initial stage. Doctors are also using the light therapy
and the drug trial methods which would not increase in the case of the dementia. Light therapy
would result in the decrease in the symptoms which would result in the better health of the
people. New scientific treatments and the strategies are used by doctor for decreasing the cases
of the dementia.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Chan, M., 2018. Dementia: a public health priority.
Forbes, D and et.al.,2015. Exercise programs for people with dementia. Cochrane Database of
Systematic Reviews. (4).
Jung, C.G., 2015. Psychology of dementia praecox (Vol. 1294). Princeton University Press.
Livingston, G and et.al.,2017. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care. The Lancet,
390(10113). pp.2673-2734.
Mitchell, S.L., 2015. Advanced dementia. New England Journal of Medicine.372(26). pp.2533-
2540.
Prince, M and et.al.,2016. Recent global trends in the prevalence and incidence of dementia, and
survival with dementia. Alzheimer's research & therapy. 8(1). p.23.
Prins, N.D. and Scheltens, P., 2015. White matter hyperintensities, cognitive impairment and
dementia: an update. Nature Reviews Neurology.11(3). p.157.
Robinson, L., Tang, E. and Taylor, J.P., 2015. Dementia: timely diagnosis and early intervention.
Bmj.350. p.h3029.
T O'Brien, J. and Thomas, A., 2015. Vascular dementia. The Lancet, 386(10004).pp.1698-1706.
Woods, B and et.al.,2018. Reminiscence therapy for dementia. Cochrane database of systematic
reviews.(3).