NURS 1005 3
Dementia is a described as a collection of symptoms that caused by damage in the in
parts of the brain (Danilovich, et., al, 2018). The person’s ability to perform daily activities is
affected since the person cannot be able to think or behave normally due to dementia. This
condition is common in most aging patients like Burns in the provided case world, who is 79
years old. Normal working or social life of a person is also interfered with since the functions of
the brain are affected by the condition. When the parts of the brain start to shrink and die,
symptoms such as loss of memory is experienced. Dementia is a collection of diseases that affect
the brain; Alzheimer’s disease is identified as the most common disease that causes dementia
(Birks, 2018). Other diseases such as Vascular disease, Pick's disease, Parkinson's disease, and
multiple sclerosis can also cause dementia in aging patients.
Alzheimer’s disease damages the brain through neurodegeneration (Wyss, 2016). That is
to say; the brain cells are progressively destroyed by the condition. The brain being part of the
nervous system, it has neurons which help in the control and integration of the main activities
performed by different body organs and tissues. Damage to these neurons by dementia is referred
to as neurodegeneration. Over a long period of time, the number of patients who have
Alzheimer's disease and dementia has increased, especially the aging ones. Dementia affects the
brain by breaking down the cerebral cortex, which an essential part of the brain. The cerebral
cortex in the brain is responsible for determining intelligence and personality, language
processing, processing of sensory information, and movement (Dum, 2016). Therefore,
breakdown of cerebral cortex will result in memory loss, which is most commonly associated
with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in general.
Short-term loss of memory, difficulty during verbal communication, impaired reaction,
and depression are among the symptoms experienced by dementia patients (Tong, et., al, 2015).

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Anatomy and Physiology of Dementia and Infection Control Precautions for Elderly Patients with Dementia

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