It’s happened to all of us, hasn’t it? We’re doing something or nothing and get a wee bit distracted... then we forget what it was we were doing. Then, either we think, or someone says, (smiling) something like, “Oh oh! Looks like Alzheimer’s is setting in early,” and we laugh it off, and move on.
As we move on though, there is a small measure of unease, because Alzheimer’s, even as a word, makes us all uneasy. It has consequences, because none of us want to be that old lady from down the road who went down to the shop to buy bread and milk and hasn’t come home again, who has got lost again, just like last week. Deep down, yet not too deep down, we are terrified by the dementia group of diagnoses because one day it could be me... or you...
In the same way we knew absolutely nothing about the global viruses that turned our lives upside down just a few short years ago, we know nothing more about the symptoms of the dementia group of complaints than what we did about Covid. Strangely, we learned a great deal more about viruses, their do’s and don’ts, in a hurry, yet unless we have a need to know, few of us, myself included, have ever looked twice at dementia other than being sympathetic towards it in a somewhat generic sense.
Dementia is the over-arching description of several similar diseases that damage the brain, and deteriorating progressively over time causing memory loss, confusion, cognition, and behavioural problems. In all its forms it’s insidious, being relatively innocuous at first, but usually worsens quickly. It’s not natural. It doesn’t occur in everyone just because they are getting older but is a consequence of disease, causing damage to nerve cells in the brain, affecting the brain in many ways with different consequences, and may even occur early in adulthood through early onset.
Getting Alzheimer’s, of course, is the prospect that terrifies us most, being the most common, as many of us have seen loved one’s quality of life deteriorate with a loss of dignity. It occurs when brain disease leads to excessive proteins effectively shrinking the brain and brain cells to die. The decline in brain function eventually leads to dehydration and malnutrition, which, even with the best of medical care, leads to infection, and loss of life.
Vascular dementia is the second type of dementia, and is lifestyle based, with drugs, alcohol, smoking, and obesity the causes. It has a distinctly cognitive perspective, and affects our ability to plan, organize and make decisions. It can be managed through a healthy diet, physical activity, cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure management.
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) occurs almost exclusively in over-65s, and affects our ability to stay focused, we become delusional, have difficulty sleeping, and our motor functions and movement become erratic and disjointed. Though there is no ‘cure’ as such, its symptoms may be reduced through medications, and therapies for particularly for sleep deprivation, and to keep cognitive function active.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is significantly less common and is also known as either Pick's disease or frontal lobe dementia, which places it apart from Alzheimer’s, as it only affects the frontal lobe, but in the same way, shrinking the brain cells. It presents in personality and behavioural changes, but with speaking and language considerably affected. Researchers are actively pursuing the view that this variation has significant genetic characteristics and are hopeful this may offer a pathway to successfully managing dementia in the future.
Everyone experiences dementia differently, especially in its early stages, though characteristics such as memory loss, both long-term and recent; Confusion, and an ability to complete simple tasks and processes; Losing track of time or place; Difficulties with conversation or communication; Depth and distance perception; Or experiencing mood and emotional issues, and demonstrating anxiety, irritation, or frustration. Delusion, unsubstantiated beliefs, and hallucination, seeing things that are not genuinely there, may not be dementia related, especially in the aged, as normal cognitive impairment and functional decline may be due to other medical issues.
I know that learning all this will not save lives, but it may enable us to offer someone, when they need it most, respect and understanding, and for me, that’s enough.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
