How old does senile insanity begin? Senile dementia: how to help your loved one and not go crazy yourself

It is not the patient himself who suffers from the disease, but his relatives. There are frequent cases of depression and nervous breakdowns in relatives of a patient with dementia.

The correct organization of the patient's life, his living conditions can alleviate his condition and minimize the negative manifestations of the disease.

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Hello! my mother died in 2016 with dementia lived 11 years was still a diabetic lived with her alone as she got sick I tried to make sure that the children lived separately from us they would come to visit \ I have three of them \ helped to buy it she was still on crutches a fracture the neck of the hip after that and this dementia appeared now I myself am all sick in the 1st group of disability I walk badly but still try to move more but I could not hand it over somewhere how the children will think about me after that will still often remember her and crying all over in memory I blame myself for her death that something did not work, maybe it was necessary otherwise, although the children persuade me that she was already 89 years old, she was late for me, then another 62 years old, in general, I don’t know, it may be easier further while she was alive, I had sinful thoughts that she would rather die, and after her death I still cry and say let her still live, even though this is now with my youngest daughter I live easier, but it will be for everyone who loses close thine tears of wine, etc.

My dad is 73, diabetes, kidney failure, I take him on dialysis, dementia began to progress after kidney failure quickly enough. At first they thought it was a stroke, they took it with difficulty in an ambulance and did an MRI. I sincerely sympathize and understand everyone who has the same problems. A man with a partially amputated foot and severe osteomyelitis, which we inhibit with antibiotics during attacks of aggression, runs without crutches, runs away from home, wants me to always sit with him. If I leave the house, he leaves to look for me on the street (fortunately, we live in our own house). He eats all the pills that he finds, I hide everything and give it out, so he drinks and after a minute he says that he did not drink anything, asks for more, says we want to bring him to the next world. Glitches are supposed to be considered a shoe box as slippers, a cup as a cucumber is the norm. I can no longer carry on myself for dialysis. I wear it 100 kg. The back is no longer unbent. Forgets that he is asleep, does not remember anything. For half a year, a person has degraded and from day to day it only gets worse.
What choice of relatives? To live with the fact that you give your father to the hospital so as not to go mad yourself and to preserve the psyche of the children. Or ditch yourself completely. Relatives are asked to leave at home and be with him. Thanks to my mother who can barely walk but helps a lot.

• Listen, I have a mother with dementia, I read you and I understand that I am still lucky. I found out in social security that you can ask to call a commission that will reveal the severity of the disease and you can, by deceiving the ability to identify the patient in the PND (psychiatric hospital). I am not ready yet. ,but ….

  If the caregiver does not have anything that would please him, give him strength, then his life is really hell ... If there is something to switch to, an urgent need to distance himself from the patient. Even though this is a dear, close, beloved person. Carry out mechanical maintenance. It's good if you manage to get custody or simply receive a pension on a card for an elderly person. You can inspire yourself that you are at work, even if you do not love, but you must do it. If you don't have your own family to switch to, you urgently need to have a hobby, a dog, a gym, read books - in general, dive somewhere with your head so that these diapers, poop on the walls and in pockets, verbal heresy is not perceived so sharply. It is very difficult, but you have to pull yourself together, you have to take care of yourself, take care of your salvation, in the end you cannot help demential patients in any way. Yes, and another great consolation is prayer. The temple is becoming quieter. Very often people feel anger at a dementia patient, but this is not anger towards him, this is anger at the disease, at their powerlessness in front of it. Here prayer is very calming and helps. Hold on, do not lose heart, all this will pass.

• Everything is correctly written in the article! Only those who have never faced such a situation with their relatives are almost unable to understand it. Because it is difficult to imagine a situation when your parent (mother or father), whom you know from the first minutes of life, whom you have always considered adequate (maybe strict, maybe even tough, rude, but still adequate), suddenly, or gradually, but imperceptibly for the one who is nearby, they become sooooooo strange. Inappropriate behavior, incomprehensible claims and grievances, spontaneous, unreasonable aggression - sometimes they even fight, wander at night, and in the evening, when you come home from work, they say “good morning” to you, which means the next, endless sleepless night. Fear for the cranes (how not to flood the neighbors), for the stove (so everyone can fly up into the air), knives, sharp objects - how to hide all this in an apartment, and then live where? ... No, a person who does not I saw my relatives like that .... Only specialized round-the-clock care of a professional can save the situation, otherwise it is completely unknown who will be “sicker” and who needs to be saved first of all, the one who is being looked after, or the one who is caring ... And here's another trick - such a person considers his relatives to be his “servants”, who, as he believes, are obliged to fulfill all his requirements ... but with “non-native” people they behave more adequately (I noticed such a phenomenon, maybe this is only an isolated case?). The most humane approach: professional care in specialized institutions, where the entire environment is already prepared in advance, where you can not be afraid that a dementia patient will harm either himself or others. After all, providing proper care is true caring for the person with dementia. In our society, it is not yet accepted to speak loudly about such situations, therefore, most often a person whose relative has dementia tries to somehow not talk about this problem, tries to somehow solve it on his own, and this almost always means poor quality and unprofessional ... ... And judging by the statistics that every 3 is susceptible to this disease, it is time to talk about the problem on a national scale.

  Good afternoon, I understand you perfectly, I have been living in the same hell for 5 years now, given that I am 33, I have a small child and a husband, my mother has to shave to live with her grandmother alone, I have to go through all this, so everything lives together and we all go crazy , I'm especially sorry for my son, for him all this is already the norm ... but I can't quit, I'm very sorry for my grandmother ... but my nerves are already at the limit, already once I called an ambulance for myself, my hand began to go numb ... the doctors at the expense of my grandmother say what do you want ... and in the meantime she already has hallucinations, at all nights she speaks with someone in a voice, and during the day she cannot formulate a word ... only those who live in this can understand this ... she herself is strong, she is 85, and the pressure is like a young woman. we don't have to wait for anything, we just live in hell and that's it ... the previous commentator, hold on to one life with the last bit of strength, so this is how we are given to live, there is no need to end because of this, when it all ends, and you can live peacefully ...

• The article fully reflects what is happening ... For me, specifically, the situation is hopeless. I have to wait, or I will go crazy, or she will do something at home. To be with a sick person for 24 hours (even though she is a mother of 78) who does not consider herself sick is simply unbearable. for some year, it took 20 years of my life from me. I became disabled by accident, 1 g while in a wheelchair (I can only move around the apartment, I’m not equipped for leaving, I’ve been rolling like that for 3 years (multiple fractures of my legs, for information, 7 years in total), (you need to do operations, but you can't leave her unattended). Ask about social protection ... -it's not, one name, not to call. I called the district doctor twice urgently, I never came. About a neurologist, I don't even stutter It’s like this year, the year of the volunteer, I didn’t see any help from anyone. Only the bragging and self-aggrandizement of our leader. I write and regret that I came to Russia from Tajikistan (in 1994, (forced migrants) left the war, too hoped that they would help, they would not leave the state ... help ... Themselves survived as best they could. I somehow got up from scratch, even though I earned an apartment so that I wouldn't live in the garbage). All the words are in our unshakable. Volonterov saw only on TV at the stadium, in real life they are not (maybe it's just us In short, distracted, patients with dementia should be immediately isolated from healthy people at the first signs of illness, so as not to spoil the life of healthy people. Living with them is AD. God forbid anyone to live with this ... Well, I ... if Within 2 months nothing will change, I will create something with myself, there is no way out. Of course, I feel sorry for myself, although I look much young at my age (49 years old), it means fate ... PS it is surprising that not a single response was found to such an article, because everything is precisely said. It means that everyone in our state is healthy and lives healthy. This is how our compliments begs for our "last long-suffering". Health to everyone.

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This disease is quite common in old age, therefore, when communicating with patients, it is necessary to know everything about marasmus in order to take into account the peculiarities of its manifestation and influence on a person's character.

Insanity is a specific condition characteristic of old age, which consists in a decline in psychophysical activity caused by exhaustion and destruction of the cerebral cortex.

Premature insanity can be caused by early destruction of brain tissue as a result of illness or injury.

Causes of insanity

Insanity can develop even in childhood due to poor feeding, acute infectious diseases with damage to the central nervous system, congenital syphilis, and suppuration.

The causes of marasmus in the adult period of life are the same infectious diseases, injuries, mercury poisoning, complicated gastrointestinal diseases, accompanied by metabolic disorders.

At the same time, in our time, such a reason as an atrophic change in the cerebral cortex is noted, which at the moment remains poorly understood. We should not forget about the presence of a genetic predisposition, as well as the fact that insanity in old age is essentially a genetically programmed process.

Symptoms of insanity

The first signs of this disease can manifest themselves at the age of 40, and at 60 - it develops in full. At the moment, it has been proven that a decrease in mental and intellectual abilities in middle age is the onset of the disease.

Outwardly, insanity manifests itself in weight loss, dry skin and a change in its shade to an earthy gray. There comes a weakening of strength, "decrepitude", the patient's appetite is disturbed and the work of the heart is pronouncedly weakened, which in some rare cases ends with its necrosis. The patient suffers from blindness, deafness, hair tends to brittle and fall out.

The first symptoms of marasmus are also noticeable in the changes in the patient's judgments and in the aggravation of his unwillingness to change. An elderly person adheres to a strictly defined habitual way of life, reacts aggressively to any changes in it and to the appearance of dissidents in his environment, showing intolerance towards them.

Such patients are characterized by nostalgia for their past, even though it could be extremely pale and meager. The course of the disease itself is so slow and sluggish that it remains unnoticed for a long time, but the symptoms are constantly increasing.

Among the clinical symptoms, dementia, up to absolute, is characteristic. In the physical state, exhaustion, high fragility of bones and dystrophy of internal organs are observed. The average duration of the course of the disease is 5-8 years, while it can be weakened by the risk of infectious diseases, previous operations, weakening of the heart.

Signs of insanity also consist in the aggravation of some personality traits: gloominess, grumpiness, constant, tendency to conflicts and egocentrism appear. Characteristic is the tendency to lower inclinations - picking up unnecessary things, vagrancy, gluttony.

Gradually, the level of judgment and thinking in patients decreases, memory and vocabulary decrease. Initially, the disease manifests itself as severe depression and depression, accompanied by a lack of desire and grumpiness. Later, a state of a kind of euphoria develops, with periods of complacency, carelessness and indifference.

About senile marasmus

In our time, a lot is known about senile insanity. It has been established that the most common cause of the disease is problems of vascular diseases, especially hypertension. Although women are more likely to develop the disease, obese men also have an increased risk.

Also, one of the factors that further provoke senile insanity is. Do not forget about various intoxications, viral diseases, long-term use of certain medications, for example, barbiturates or tranquilizers.

If we talk about the symptomatology of directly passionate insanity, then it is worth noticing bright and pronounced changes in the personality: if the patient was previously frugal, then he becomes greedy, the sociable turns into obsessive, the energetic becomes fussy. The elderly develop selfishness, resentment, excessive suspicion and distrust even of the family.

For the prevention of the development of senile marasmus, intellectual and physical development play a decisive role, which have a positive effect on metabolic and active processes in the cerebral cortex, and prevent further atrophy. Vitamin therapy is also recommended. It is necessary to know everything about marasmus, since in some cases patients retain part of their consciousness and can hide their illness, while in normal conditions the patient does not lose critical thinking about himself.

Treatment of senile marasmus is based on psychosocial therapy and the use of some drug therapy. The support and help of the family is important for the patient; if possible, he should not be taken to specialized hospitals, since a change in environment can only aggravate the course of the disease.

Treatment of marasmus

The possibility of using drug therapy in the case of marasmus is very limited. Supervision and care of patients is a priority, as they quickly lose the ability to domesticate self-care.

In some cases, due to mental disinhibition, patients can pose a danger to themselves and others.

It is necessary to try to give the patient the most active daily regimen, which will help prevent pulmonary pathology, weakening of the heart, loss of appetite and the appearance of pressure sores. Insomnia is usually eliminated by normalizing the day's schedule, walking in the fresh air. Vitamin therapy is prescribed, sometimes nootropics, which improve metabolic processes in the brain. Treatment of marasmus can be improved by combating the symptoms of vascular diseases.

Senile dementia is dementia that comes over the years, characterized by degradation of thinking, memory, behavior. Dementia in the elderly leads to a permanent decline in cognitive performance and the ability to take care of oneself. There are different types of dementia and they will be covered in this article.

Senile dementia: what is this disease

Presenile dementia is a whole group of states of dementia, progressing in the pre-senile years, associated with atrophy of brain cells.

The following forms of the disease are more common:

• Alzheimer's and Pick's disease;
• Parkinson's;
• chorea of ​​Huntington.

Senile dementia in psychiatrists means developing degenerative neuronal withering, more often seen after 80 years. Mental functions, memory are impaired, and are lost: willpower, accumulated knowledge, routine skills.

This group includes senile insanity and age-related loss of cognitive functions. In contrast to congenital dementia, incurable oligophrenia, senile dementia is classified as an acquired mental degradation of mature individuals.

Development stages and life expectancy prognosis

The stages of dementia are slow, and the deterioration develops gradually.

Noted:

• initial stage;
• moderate;
• final.

The early stage is very similar to the personality shifts of natural aging. Rare episodes of forgetfulness are noted, mental abilities decrease. Some character traits: pedantry, stinginess, are exacerbated, self-criticism is still preserved.

Moderate dementia of the brain is characterized by increasing intellectual impairment. The personality is destroyed, individual characteristics are leveled, the behavior becomes the same type.

Memory lapses deepen, habitual skills are lost. The patient becomes sloppy, indifferent to his appearance and hobbies. Basic hygiene habits are still preserved. But the patient can injure himself by accident. Relatives should not leave a person unattended.

The prognosis of life expectancy depends on the severity of the final stage of dementia. How many years do people live after being diagnosed with presenile dementia? From 6 to 14 years old and more. With senile - up to 10, 15 years.

In recent years, the patient has experienced deep amnesia and speech disorders. He forgets his name, skills, achievements. Home treatment consists of full care and ongoing maintenance, including nutrition and hygiene.

It's important to know! An elderly patient needs the constant presence of a caregiver or relatives. He can light a fire, flood an apartment, break expensive dishes, cut himself by shrapnel. Take care of your family!

What to do for relatives

When a patient with such a diagnosis appears in the family, relatives should treat him with increased attention. While only minor symptoms and signs are noted, the person combes his hair on his own, but forgets where the comb is, it is necessary to prompt him. If the patient is shown, reminded of how the usual action is done, he is still able to repeat the movement and take care of himself on his own.

Relatives should understand that when the patient can no longer take care of himself, the condition worsens. What to do when urinary incontinence starts? We need to hire a nurse, someone to take care of the patient. The patient will need diapers for adults, a pad on the bed if a severe stage of the pathology has come.

In extreme cases, a person is placed in a specialized medical institution. In case of severe dementia in elderly people, here they will be fed, washed, combed, and provided with complete care.

Attention! A patient with advanced dementia may become aggressive, pugnacious, and intolerant of criticism. No need to be offended by a person. He is not responsible for himself at this time. Relatives must have patience and love. Forgive everything and understand.

Types of senile marasmus

Senile marasmus is not an obligatory sign of aging. Active longevity today is taking over the broad masses. At the age of 70-80, people live an interesting, eventful life, go in for sports, communicate in social networks, joke, laugh, and have a positive outlook on life.

However, elderly people often deteriorate their character, memory, anger, irritability. Some relatives, having noticed apathy, forgetfulness, untidiness in a loved one, attribute this to natural aging and do not go to doctors.

As a result, brain atrophy sets in too quickly, the behavior of the degraded individual turns the life of the whole family into a real hell.

Vascular dementia

Vascular or vascular dementia occurs from circulatory disorders in the brain. If some cells do not receive sufficient nutrition and oxygen, they begin to wither and die over time.

Until a certain age, the body retains the ability to regenerate and restore neurons. But, if exhaustion already sets in, cell atrophy is inevitable. Then symptoms become noticeable, thinking, memory, speech, behavior are disturbed. The individual loses independence, becomes dependent on outside help.

Vascular dementia syndrome can appear unexpectedly, as a result of blockage of a blood vessel in the head by a blood clot or a large airlock. If the vessel breaks, many neurons die from the blood poured into the brain. Also, slow dementia comes from a blockage of small blood vessels in the brain. such a pathology can be detected only on MRI.

Heart failure, a decrease in blood flow from the blockage of blood vessels with plaques of bad cholesterol also become the impetus for the onset of neuronal atrophy.

Due to the difference in the causes of vascular dementia, there is no single treatment for this pathology. However, prevention and treatment affect the healing and cleansing of blood vessels. Disrupted blood flow in large arteries and capillaries is restored. Doctors are trying to normalize blood pressure, to a value of 120/80. So that neurons do not experience oxygen starvation.

Frontotemporal dementia

Frontotemporal or frontotemporal dementia is a disease in which the wilting of the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain is even more pronounced than in Alzheimer's and Pick's disease. The death of gray matter cells is summed up with the accumulation of Peak bodies in them. In some cells, neurofibrillary fibers from tau protein are found.

Pathology is characterized by rapidly developing apathy, weakening of physical and psychological activity. Speech disorders progress, the grasping and sucking reflex disappears. A little later, disinhibition of behavior and euphoria begins. The treatment, as in Alzheimer's syndrome, is symptomatic, but not very effective.

Alcoholic dementia

Severe disorders of the central nervous system, disruption of normal activity always result from addiction, endless drunkenness. An eternally drunk person loses adequate thinking, perception, counting, speech, attention, memory.

The patient must be shown to a psychiatrist - narcologist. The doctor will assess the degree of degradation of mental abilities using tests and questionnaires, and prescribe treatment.

Dementia in Schizophrenia

Schizophrenic dementia of the brain is characterized to a greater extent by emotional disturbances. The acquired knowledge and skills initially practically do not suffer, the intellect is preserved. However, patients cannot use the knowledge.

Schizophrenia is a chronic disease. Therefore, if it is possible to stop the course of the disease itself, then the symptoms of dementia disappear. In other cases, an extremely unfavorable prognosis is possible.

Along with the growing apathy, untidiness, impaired speech and social connections, delirium and hallucinations occur. But for life, the prognosis is positive, with successful treatment, restoration of working capacity is possible.

Alzheimer's type dementia

Dementia and Alzheimer's disease are synonymous words. Pathology of this type is characterized by a primary degenerative phenomenon in the activity of brain cells. Without early and adequate treatment, this dementia completely destroys the personality and brings death closer.

The first signs of Alzheimer's dementia are a slight weakening of memory, indifference to their favorite work. A cure for this type of dementia is still unknown. But many scientists are working on its development. Israeli doctors have noted positive shifts in new works.

However, drugs are known that slow down the deposition of pathological plaques and the development of entwining fibers in the gray matter. The active life position significantly lengthens the life expectancy of patients. Constant exercise for the body and brain creates new neural circuits, makes the brain work and resist atrophy.

The last stage of dementia leads to personality degradation, loss of memory, complete helplessness. It occurs at the most venerable age, 10-15 years after the detection of pathology. A person at this time needs care and attention.

Dementia after a stroke

An unexpected destruction of blood vessels in the brain - a stroke, leads to partial paralysis of the lower or upper extremities, their weakening, paralysis of one side of the body may occur. Subject's smile curls up sideways and is unable to move his tongue normally. Walking is impaired after a stroke. The man shuffles his feet, is unstable, as if drunk.

A person develops increased drowsiness, apathy, memories of recent events disappear. With a stroke, different parts of the brain atrophy. Depending on what function this share of gray matter is responsible for, a loss of skills, thinking, and awareness of the surrounding reality is manifested.

In almost all patients, the regularity of urination is disturbed. Emotional disturbances, an incomprehensible, helpless state, lead the patient to depression and pessimistic behavior.

Proper treatment and restoration of good blood supply brings the patient closer to a slow but sure recovery of cognitive function, memory and mood. Patients live after the detection of vascular dementia for up to 5 years or more.

Multi-infarction dementia

The loss of cognitive function after many consecutive strokes has been called multi-infarction dementia. Its manifestation depends on the extent of the affected area of ​​the gray matter. It has been noticed that dementia is more often manifested after damage to the left hemisphere.

After numerous ruptures of blood vessels, degradation increases in steps. Strokes happen more often against the background of high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis. Several ruptured blood vessels can lead to death and complete paralysis. First of all, normal blood circulation should be restored if the person does not die.

Digital dementia

The next generation pathology is called digital dementia. Pupils and students who constantly rely on their gadgets, calculators, have forgotten how to count in our time.

In South Korea, where electronic devices are ubiquitous, loss of intelligence and mental breakdown of personality have been observed in a large part of the population.

Such dementia is treated with mathematical exercises, oral counting, and solving riddles and puzzles. In old age, digital dementia occurs in those who do not bother solving problems, equations, do not learn lessons with children and grandchildren.

Epileptic dementia

Epilepsy is a chronic disease. It proceeds with periodic seizures and loss of consciousness. Depending on the length and depth of the attacks, there is a gradual atrophy of neurons and personality degradation.

Patients with high intelligence rarely suffer from dementia. Congenital epilepsy is incurable, post-traumatic epilepsy can be treated. Either way, anticonvulsants lengthen the time between seizures and make them easier. Signs of dementia disappear, memory and all skills return.

Dementia in Parkinson's disease

Trembling paralysis is a disease associated with the death of neurons and connections between them in the subcortical region of the brain. Parkinsonism is caused by vascular diseases, taking antipsychotic medications, anti-asthma drugs, craniocerebral trauma, infections. Familial tremors similar to this type have also been noted.

In half of cases, parkinsonism does not provoke dementia. But sometimes this happens, and suicidal tendencies are often observed. Because a constant tremor is perceived by others as inadequacy. The person is very worried about it. Memory impairments begin later.

Parkinsonism is treated with Cyclodol, Parkopan, Midantan and other means. Dementia symptoms subside with healing of the tremor.

Lacunar dementia

Amnestic or lacunar vascular dementia occurs after limited stroke. It is usually localized in different parts of the brain. The severity of dementia depends on what function the affected area of ​​neurons controls.

Treatment of blood vessels often leads to complete restoration of motor functions and intelligence. Recovery is very slow.

Causes of the disease

Senile sclerosis, indifference to one's appearance, loss of skills and speech occur in old age, not only from venerable years. Progressive dementia is more common after age 80. Unlimited alcohol or strong coffee can be the reason.

Alcohol is a well-known provocateur of dementia. Coffee increases blood pressure, which leads to stroke, the development of vascular dementia.

Congenital and post-traumatic epilepsy, if you do not take anticonvulsants and do not adhere to the regime, drink strong drinks, leads to dementia and death.

The cause of digital dementia is an overuse of calculators. Mental counting is helpful.

Acquired dementia more often affects people who, after graduating from high school, do not read books, do not solve scanwords, do not go to theaters, do not make their gray cells work.

A small percentage of diseases are genetic and infectious. It has been noticed that the herpes virus is capable of killing neurons.

Organic dementia is of the primary type. It arises from the mass death of neurons, which is caused by vascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, Pick. Age-related dementia occurs in almost 90% of cases for this reason.

The remaining 10% are related to secondary dementia. The reasons in this case are:

• cancerous tumor in the head;
• infectious brain damage (meningitis);
• metabolic disorders;
• thyroid disease;
• brain injury.

Senile dementia symptoms

Symptoms of dementia in the elderly refer to general changes resulting from brain damage caused by a number of diseases. Most often, these symptoms occur after 65 years, but experts do not consider dementia to be the norm for old age.

Age-related dementia is manifested by impairment of memory, loss of routine skills, indifference to those subjects that were previously dear. Inability to navigate the terrain, unwillingness to learn new things. The patient can no longer adequately analyze what is happening, compare, confuse bitter and sweet. An elderly person begins to think like a small child. No wonder there is an expression: falls into childhood.

The symptoms of dementia in older people are often associated with depression. A person feels lonely, unnecessary in such a helpless state. Vulnerability, increased sensitivity and resentment are easily replaced by aggressiveness and crying.

Symptoms of dementia in old age are sometimes accompanied by hallucinations and delusions, complete degradation of personality, and mental shifts. For example, sleep disturbance, appetite disturbance is accompanied by a persistent desire to put the mug in one place. Such a patient categorically does not want to be rearranged.

Diagnostics of the acquired dementia

To know how to treat senile dementia, you need to undergo a comprehensive examination. In the early stages of pathology, the patient himself does not always notice changes in his behavior. Loving and attentive relatives, noticing that a person has become slow, confuses words and events, withdrawn, unreasonably rude, will take him to a doctor.

Disability in dementia and treatment are prescribed by a neurologist, therapist, ophthalmologist. In the laboratory, blood is examined:

• for sugar;
• lipids;
• electrolytes;
• creatinine;
• liver function tests;
• thyroid hormones;
• the content of trace elements;
• syphilis;

The following hardware examinations are carried out:

• vascular dopplerography;
• gene test;

Dementia treatment

Neurologists and psychiatrists know how to treat senile dementia. Secondary dementia caused by metabolic disorders, infectious diseases, schizophrenia, epilepsy, head trauma is treatable. When the symptoms of the disease that causes dementia are gone, the signs of dementia also disappear.

Primary dementia is incurable. But all drugs, food, diet and exercise prolong a person's life, improve the quality of life.

Drugs

Dementia cure:

• Donepezil;
• Galantomin;
• Rivastigmine;
• Memantine.

The listed drugs are taken daily. Neuroprotectors are prescribed in periodic courses:

• Semax;
• Citicoline;
• Cerebrolysin;
• Glycine;
• Cortexin.

• tranquilizers;
• antidepressants;
• sleeping pills.

Traditional methods

Researchers at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine have found that a compound found in grapes prevents age-related memory impairment. Resveratrol is good for the cardiovascular system. It has a positive effect on the hippocampus, an area of ​​the brain associated with mood and learning, and helps with Alzheimer's. This medication is an antioxidant that reduces the risk of head and neck cancer.

Therefore, grapes and a little red wine are beneficial for those suffering from senile dementia. They live with such a diagnosis for a very long time if they use folk remedies to maintain life and restore cognitive functions.

Symptoms and treatment of senile insanity are well known to traditional healers.

They advise taking:

• tincture of elecampane... Insist a large spoonful of roots in 500 ml of vodka for a month. Take a soup spoon three times a day half an hour before meals, shaking beforehand;
• blueberry... A glass of freshly squeezed juice or compote a day restores microcirculation of blood in the head, restores vision and memory;
• honey and onion mixture... Mix the grated onion puree in equal amounts with honey. Twice a day, a tablespoon of the product reduces forgetfulness;
• ginger tea with mint and lemon balm... Boil 30 grams of ginger cubes and a few mint leaves. Drink tea several times a day. Normalizes brain function and strengthens the immune system.

Nutrition, diet

Symptoms, treatment and how long they live with senile dementia largely depends on proper nutrition and diet.

Meals should be chosen according to their problems. For example, with high blood pressure, you should not drink strong coffee and even strong black tea, so as not to provoke another stroke.

Alcoholic drinks and strong coffee are contraindicated for epileptics, then the attacks become less frequent and shorter.

If the vessels of the head are clogged with plaques of cholesterol, it is necessary to exclude fatty and fat-fried foods from the diet. Eat less flour and confectionery.

Signs of dementia in women depend on hormonal levels. The menu should include food that normalizes the necessary micronutrients. Then the memory and bones will be stronger, the heart will beat rhythmically.

Fruits and vegetables, lean meats, cereals, olive oil are good for all elderly people. Ginseng tincture and juices will give strength, strengthen muscles.

Exercises

How to avoid senile dementia without exercise? Strong training is necessary not only for the body, but also for your gray cells. Doctors have noticed that dancing, the need to memorize complex movements, has a positive effect on a person's memory and brain function.

It has long been known that a challenging sport improves the quality of intelligence.

How can you prevent or slow down dementia while lying on the couch? No way! An active life position, a keen interest in new information, learning unfamiliar languages, solving math problems, maintaining a personal blog, communicating in Odnoklassniki will make life more fun.

New connections in the brain through exercise make gray matter cells work. Thus, a person is able to overcome dementia and prolong his active longevity.

Expanding one's horizons by walking in unfamiliar parks, reading interesting adventure books is useful for improving the quality and longevity of an elderly person.

Prophylaxis

Prevention of senile dementia consists in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and an optimistic attitude, diverse, lively interests.

If you spend your whole life on booze and fights, with inevitable head injuries, it is difficult to assume that in old age a person will have a bright mind and high intelligence. Many drunkards do not even live to see old age.

Those who are keenly interested in novelties in fashion, study medicinal herbs, philosophical teachings, practice yoga, science, and remain able to take care of themselves until later years. A person who goes in for sports, collects paintings, attends fashion exhibitions, does not suffer from senile marasmus.

Question answer

Is dementia inherited

Numerous studies show that dementia is inherited only in very rare cases. We are talking about about 15% of cases.

Distinguishing dementia from Alzheimer's

Dementia can result from Alzheimer's or another disease, such as Pick. Dementia is not a separate disease, but something that can lead to atrophy of neurons, which has arisen for one reason or another.

Distinguishing dementia from Pick's disease

Degradation of personality in a patient with Pick's disease proceeds in a slightly different scenario than in Alzheimer's syndrome. Neurons in both cases are affected in different ways.

Dementia is a consequence of atrophy of the frontal and temporal parts of the brain in Pick's disease. But dementia is not a separate pathology that should be compared with another.

Senile dementia is an illness that can occur in a person in old age. In the people, dementia has a name. The disease develops as a result of atrophic processes that occur in the brain.

In old age, most people in all organs and systems begin to experience irreversible processes, malfunctions. Mental activity is also impaired, deviations in this area are divided into emotional, behavioral and cognitive. Dementia is associated with many disorders but is closely related to cognitive impairment. Simply put, against this background, patients have a reduced emotionality, frequent unreasonable depressions appear, and gradually the personality begins to degrade.

Manifestations of senile dementia

When does senile dementia begin to manifest? Symptoms, as a rule, are found in old age. The disease affects such psychological processes as memory, speech, attention, thinking. Already at the earliest stages of the onset of vascular dementia, disorders manifest themselves quite significantly, which cannot but affect the quality of life. A person begins to forget about the acquired skills, and he simply cannot master the new ones. Such patients are forced to leave the professional field, they need constant care of their household members.

Stages of development of the disease

Senile dementia begins to manifest itself gradually. Mental activity worsens, the patient loses his individual characteristics that were inherent in him. If the disease progresses, then it takes on a total form.

Initially, others may not even notice that an elderly person suffers from senile dementia. Personal changes come gradually. Negative character traits can be perceived by loved ones as features of old age. An elderly person may show conservatism in conversation, stinginess, selfishness, a desire to teach others. After all, this may not always indicate that senile dementia has come. What should others and loved ones do? Closely observe the intellectual condition of your elderly relatives. With the development of the disease, thought processes and attention deteriorate. The patient begins to poorly generalize information, draw conclusions, and adequately analyze the situation.

Gradually, the personality becomes coarse, senile traits appear: callousness, stinginess, anger, interests narrow, views turn into stereotyped. It also happens that the patient becomes complacent and completely careless, he loses his moral skills, does not adhere to moral norms. With peculiarities in sexual attraction, some kind of sexual perversion may even arise.

As for the memory of patients, incredible things are happening here. A person often forgets what happened to him yesterday, but clearly remembers pictures of the distant past. Therefore, many suffering from senile dementia live in the past, remember themselves as young, consider themselves young, call those around them with names from the past, and often go somewhere on the road.

External forms of behavior often do not change, gestures remain the same, familiar, characteristic of this person, he uses his inherent expressions. Therefore, relatives do not notice that an elderly person develops senile dementia, treatment, they believe, is not required.

Three degrees of the disease

Depending on the social adaptation of the individual, there are three distinct degrees of the disease.

1. Mild senile dementia. Professional skills are degraded, the patient's social activity decreases, interest in entertainment and favorite activities weakens. At the same time, orientation in the surrounding space is not lost, a person independently ensures his life.
2. A moderate or moderate degree of dementia does not allow leaving the patient unattended. At this stage, the ability to use household appliances is lost. Often a person is not able to open even a door lock on his own. In common parlance, this degree of severity is referred to as "senile insanity." In everyday life, patients need constant help, but from the point of view of personal hygiene, they serve themselves well.
3. Severe degree. Senile dementia can lead to complete maladjustment and personality degradation. The disease at this stage is characterized by the fact that the patient needs constant care, he cannot serve himself on his own. Relatives have to dress him, feed him, wash him and so on.

Forms of dementia

There are two main forms of senile dementia - lacunar (partial or dysmal) and total.

In lacunar dementia, serious deviations in short-term memory are observed, while emotional changes (sensitivity, tearfulness) are not pronounced.

Total senile dementia, the symptoms of which are more pronounced, has a complex form. Criticism in a person is sharply reduced, reactions are lost, personality is leveled. Personal degradation occurs, emotional-volitional activity changes radically. A person loses a sense of duty, shame, while losing spiritual and life values.

Types of senile dementia

Depending on what signs of senile dementia are manifested, experts divide the disease into several types:

Partial dementia. In this case, memory and emotional disorders are pronounced. Increased weakness, fatigue is manifested. The mood is mostly low.

Epileptic dementia. This type develops gradually, does not appear immediately. A person is prone to fine detailing of events, to vindictiveness, becomes vindictive and pedantic. The person's outlook decreases, most often speech becomes poor. The main signs of epilepsy often appear.

Schizophrenic dementia. With this type of dementia, the patient is better off immediately hospitalized in order to prevent a complete change in personality. Signs of the state are complete isolation, emotional coldness, loss of connection with the outside world, decreased activity, isolation from reality.

Medical classification of types of dementia

• Dementia of the atrophic type. These include Pick and Alzheimer's disease. Often, diseases occur against the background of initial degenerative reactions that occur in the cells of the central nervous system.
• Vascular dementia (hypertension, atherosclerosis). The disease develops due to pathologies that have arisen in the vascular system of the brain and blood circulation.
• Mixed dementia. The mechanism of occurrence is similar to both vascular and atrophic dementia.

Who can get the disease

Why is senile dementia manifested? Doctors still cannot name the causes of the disease. Many agree that hereditary predisposition plays an important role in the appearance of the disease. This theory is supported by the presence of cases of "familial dementia". An important role is played by atrophic processes of the brain, which can progress under the influence of certain factors. After a severe stroke, senile dementia can occur. Symptoms (treatment takes a long time) constantly accompany the disease.

It happens that dementia can develop after pathologies that lead to the death of brain cells, due to trauma to the skull, tumors in the brain, multiple sclerosis, and alcoholism.

Older people who lead an active, healthy lifestyle, both mentally and physically, are much less likely to experience this disease. Often, senile dementia manifests itself in those who are more often in a depressed mood, have weak immunity, and poor living conditions for life.

Senile dementia: symptoms, treatment

For any type of dementia, the following signs are relevant:

• Emotional and volitional. They manifest themselves in unreasonable aggression, apathy, tearfulness.
• Intelligent. Attention, thinking, speech are disturbed, up to the disintegration of the personality.

Often a doctor diagnoses dementia when cognitive impairment occurs after a stroke or heart attack. Weakened attention can be considered a harbinger of the development of the disease. The patient begins to complain that he cannot clearly concentrate his attention on something, to concentrate.

The characteristic symptoms include a wobbly, mincing gait, changes in the timbre of the voice, articulation. Swallowing dysfunction is sometimes observed. Slowed intellectual processes can also serve as an alarming signal, a person slowly analyzes the information received, finds it difficult to organize his activities. Over time, physical signs appear: muscles weaken, pupils narrow, hands tremble, the skin becomes very dry, and sometimes the functions of internal organs are disrupted. With the progression of the disease, hallucinations, delusional ideas appear.

This is how senile dementia manifests itself. How many people live with this disease? This question is of interest to many. The answer to it cannot be unambiguous. Dementia is not the cause of death. Sometimes any manifestations of the disease (inattention, disorientation) can lead an elderly person to an accident.

When diagnosing dementia, the doctor conducts testing, during which tasks are set for the patient that he must complete in a certain time.

Vascular dementia

When it comes to vascular dementia, it is worth noting that abnormalities in memory do not appear so significantly. But the emotional state requires increased attention. All patients are subject to constant mood swings. Laughing to tears, they can immediately weep bitterly. Very often they are visited by hallucinations, they show apathy towards everything that surrounds them. Sometimes they suffer from epileptic seizures. With vascular dementia, motor activity, gestures are disturbed, facial expressions become scarce. Urination disorders occur. Such patients are characterized by sloppiness, indifference to personal hygiene.

Senile dementia: treatment, drugs

There are no routine, standard methods of treating dementia therapies. Each case is individual and is considered by the doctor separately. This is due to the huge mass of pathogenic mechanisms that preceded the disease. It is worth noting that it is completely impossible to cure dementia, the disorders caused by brain damage are irreversible.

What drugs are most often used for senile dementia? Neuroprotectors are used for treatment, they have a positive effect on the brain, improving metabolism in tissues. An important role in therapy is played by the direct treatment of precisely those diseases that led to dementia.

In cognitive processes, calcium antagonists are used, these include cerebrolysin, as well as nootropic drugs. If the patient has lingering depression, the doctor prescribes antidepressants. To avoid cerebral infarction, it is recommended to take anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents.

Particular attention should be paid to a healthy lifestyle. In old age, it is simply necessary to completely abandon alcohol and tobacco smoking, too salty and fatty foods. It is recommended to spend more time in the fresh air, to move.

Medication is used primarily to relieve certain symptoms. Psychotropic drugs are prescribed for periodic anxiety, sleep disturbances, manifestations of delirium, hallucinations. The doctor tries to prescribe drugs that do not cause side effects, including weakness.

At an early stage, nootropics, as well as metabolic drugs, help to stop the progression of the disease, slow down the pathological process. The treatment regimen can only be determined by the attending physician. Funds are selected strictly individually, templates are unacceptable here.

Disease prevention

Medical statistics state that about 35.5 million people suffer from senile dementia. At the same time, doctors give disappointing forecasts. Is it possible to prevent senile dementia? In some cases, the newest drug "Brain Booster" will help prevent the development of the disease. This dietary supplement fills the diet with the necessary amount of nutrients, macro- and microelements, vitamins. Satisfies all the body's needs for the right substances. The drug is necessary for the effective prevention of senile dementia, it also helps in the initial stages of the disease to normalize the activity of the cerebral vessels.

The drug "Brain Booster" has been tested in practice by traditional medicine. The necessary plant components were used to create it. The drug stimulates processes in the brain, improves blood circulation, cleanses blood vessels. Allows you to cope with depressive conditions, improves memory, makes a person more efficient and focused.

Not a single person wants to acquire senile dementia over time, to live with this ailment, to create unbearable conditions of coexistence for their loved ones. It is necessary to start prevention of the disease when you are still in your right mind and understand the need and importance of preventive measures.

Treatment and prevention with folk remedies

In order to suspend, correct the development of senile dementia, you can use folk remedies.

• When treating atherosclerosis, take decoctions, tinctures of hawthorn fruits, aniseed lofant, Caucasian dioscorea.
• Take B vitamins and folic acid on a regular basis. Eat fresh blueberries; in winter, make decoctions from dried berries.
• At the initial stages of the disease, tincture on the root of elecampane will help. Drops should be taken 3-4 times a day before meals.
• Mild signs of dementia are well corrected by ginkgo biloba extract. The drug can be bought at any pharmacy.

It should be noted that people with dementia tend to be sloppy. They require constant care. If relatives cannot cope with this, then it is better to hire a professional nurse or send the patient to a specialized institution - a boarding school, where patients with senile dementia are monitored. How long do you live with this disease? With advanced vascular dementia, according to doctors, life expectancy is about five years.

All seniors are encouraged to lead an active, healthy lifestyle. Walk more, breathe fresh air. Do not become limp, do not fall into depressive states, develop your mind and intellect, and then, with a high probability, the disease will bypass you.