Page 13 - Leisure Living Magazine Autumn 2018

Understanding Mixed Dementia
By Theresa Bowen, Ph.D., Email - theesajb@gmail.com
Dementia is a group of symptoms that has an enough effect on thinking, memory, and social abilities to encumber daily living. Even though dementia involves mem-
Alzheimer’s or the blood ves-
sel problems associated with
vascular dementia. LBD is a progressive disease
ory loss, memory loss can
occur from many different
causes. Mixed dementia
is a combination of two
or more types of demen-
tia. Before doctors and
patients can decide on a
treatment plan they need
to know what type of cog-
nitive decline the patient
has. Understanding the
various types of dementia
can be important to fam-
ily members and caregiv-
ers who want to know what to expect as the con- dition progresses.
The most common cause of dementia is Alz- heimer’s disease. This disease entails a dramat- ic cognitive decline and accounts for up to 80% of dementia patients. It is caused by a buildup of plaques in the brain along with twisted tangles of protein called tau or what doctors call tangles.
The second most common type of dementia is vascular dementia. Vascular dementia happens when there is damage to the vessels that supply blood to the brain. This can be caused by a stroke or other blood vessel conditions. The initial symp- toms that appear are trouble with decision-making skills and organization rather than memory loss. Whereas Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body dementia progress slowly, vascular dementia has a clearer decline of cognition especially after a stroke.
Lewy bodies are abnormal clumps of protein deposits found in the brains of people with Lewy body dementia (LBD), Alzheimer’s disease and in vascular dementia. People with LBD are likely to show memory loss but may have additional early symptoms such as hallucinations and sleep prob- lems from these microscopic protein deposits. Sometimes the sleep disorder causes the person to act out in their sleep from scary or violent dreams. These loved ones with Lewy body deposits may also have the plaques and tangles associated with
meaning that symp- toms start slowly but worsen over time. Autopsy studies of the brains of people 80 and older who had dementia indicate that many had a combi- nation of Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy Body dementia and vascular dementia. The overall condition is referred to as mixed dementia.
Since there are many types of dementia there is a significant overlap
Continued on page 14
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