|All about dementia types of dementia risk factors for dementia causes of dementia symptoms of dementia diagnosis of dementia dementia treatments long term dementia care alcohol-related dementia frontal lobe dementia senile dementia (Alzheimer dementia) early onset dementia AIDS related dementia Alzheimer's disease (Alzheimer dementia) types of Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer dementia stages causes of Alzheimer's disease risk factors for Alzheimer's disease warning signs of Alzheimer's disease symptoms of Alzheimer's disease diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease treatment for Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease medications Alzheimer's disease diet Alzheimer's disease exercise therapy prognosis of Alzheimer's disease vascular dementia vascular dementia types multi-infarct dementia Binswanger's disease causes of vascular dementia vascular dementia risk factors vascular dementia symptoms diagnosis of vascular dementia treatments for vascular dementia lewy body dementia lewy body dementia causes lewy body dementia symptoms diagnosing lewy body dementia treatment of lewy body dementia Pick's disease causes of Pick's disease symptoms of Pick's disease diagnosis of Pick's disease treatment for Pick's disease
What's alcohol-related dementia?
Alcohol related dementia is a form of dementia related to the excessive drinking of alcohol. This affects memory, learning and other mental functions. Korsakoff's syndrome and Wernicke/Korsakoff syndrome are particular forms of alcohol related brain injury which may be associated with alcohol related dementia.
Alcohol abuse can lead to several forms of dementia, but it does not seem to cause Alzheimer disease. Recent research suggests that people who drink moderately (which is one drink a day for women, or two drinks a day for men) have less risk of developing Alzheimer disease than people who are heavy drinkers, or people who have never been drinkers. The potential protective effect, which is small to start with, may be related to the anti-oxidants contained in some alcohol beverages such as red wine. However, there are still many important questions in the way the existing research information is gathered (who is included, who drops out, how is the dementia identified) that leave the issue unclear. Family giving care may be concerned about whether they might develop Alzheimer disease, and they may wonder will alcohol consumption prevent that from happening. Right now, research wise, it is too early to tell. The big problem is that it is not always easy to separate out moderate drinking from other health or environmental factors. For some individuals, it is important to take a very cautious approach: it can be easy to slip from "moderate drinking" into riskier levels of drinking.
Nutritional problems, which often accompany consistent or episodic heavy use of alcohol, are thought to be contributing factors. Key parts of the brain may suffer damage through vitamin deficiencies, particularly marked levels of thiamine deficiency and the direct effect that alcohol has on the absorption and use of thiamine. Anyone who drinks excessive amounts of alcohol over a period of years may get alcohol related dementia. Males who drink more than six standard alcoholic drinks a day, and women who drink more than four alcoholic drinks a day seem to be at increased risk of developing alcohol related dementia. The risk clearly increases for people who drink high levels of alcohol on a regular basis.
Alcohol has a serious negative effect on the central nervous system. Alcohol can affect the brain directly as a neurotoxin. Alcohol can affect the brain indirectly - either when the higher alcohol use leads to malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies (especially Vitamin B) if the person is not eating properly or when the alcohol use causes liver damage. Both of vitamin deficiency and liver damage can lead to brain shrinkage and brain damage.
Alcohol dementia presents as a more global deterioration in intellectual function with memory not being specifically affected. Sufferers can present in their early thirties although the more common age for presentation is in the fifth, sixth and seventh decades. This condition is not, as suggested, a true dementia, in that recovery is possible. This seems to be more common in women and the recovery rates are better than for Korsakoff's Psychosis, provided correct support and alcohol abstinence is ensured. Most presentations are somewhere along the spectrum between Korsakoff's Psychosis and a global dementia. Others can present with damage to the frontal lobes to their brain which causes disinhibition, loss of planning, and executive functions and a blithe disregard for the consequences of their behaviour. Alcohol misuse can cause a general alcohol dementia that damages cells throughout the brain. Other types of alcohol-related dementia such as Korsakoff's Syndrome cause the destruction of certain areas of the brain, where changes in memory are the main symptom.
At an early stage of the disease, problems may be reduced or reversed if the person abstains from alcohol, their diet is improved and vitamins, especially thiamine, vitamin B1, replaced.Thiamine is important to limit some of the toxic effects of alcohol, and is an important supplement for heavy drinkers. Community support is available for the person with dementia, their families and carers. This support can make a positive difference to managing dementia.
More information on dementia (Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, lewy body dementia, Pick's disease)
What is dementia? - Dementia is a deterioration of intellectual function and other cognitive skills. Dementia may involve progressive deterioration of thinking, memory, behavior, personality and motor function.
What types of dementia are there? - Types of dementia include Alzheimer's dementia, vascular dementias, Parkinson disease, Lewy body dementia, alcohol-related dementia, and Pick disease.
What're the risk factors for dementia? - The main risk factor for dementia is age. People who have sustained serious head injuries through boxing are prone to dementia pugilistica.
What causes dementia? - Dementia is caused by degeneration in the cerebral cortex including death of brain cells, conditions that impair the vascular or neurologic structures of the brain.
What're the symptoms of dementia? - The early symptom of dementia is diminished short-term memory. Patients with severe dementia cannot perform activities of daily living.
How is dementia diagnosed? - Diagnosis of dementia begins with a thorough physical exam and complete medical history, and followed by information-concentration-orientation test of Blessed et al. and the mini-mental state exam of Folstein et al.
What's the treatment for dementia? - The goal of treatment is to control the symptoms of dementia. Treatment of dementia begins with treatment of the underlying disease.
What's the long term dementia care? - Long-term dementia care may be needed for some patients with dementia. Possible options include in-home care, boarding homes, adult day care, and convalescent homes.
What's alcohol-related dementia? - Alcohol related dementia is a form of dementia related to the excessive drinking of alcohol. Alcohol abuse can lead to several forms of dementia.
What's frontal lobe dementia? - Frontal lobe dementia is a set of degenerative diseases producing many of the same symptoms as vascular dementia. The frontal lobe governs people's mood and behaviour.
What's senile dementia? - Senile dementia is the mental deterioration (loss of intellectual ability) that is associated with old age. Senile dementia is often used when referring to Alzheimer's disease.
What's early onset dementia? - Early onset dementia is a term that covers a range of diseases affecting memory and thinking in people under the age of 65.
What's AIDS related dementia? - HIV associated dementia (HAD) is comprised of a spectrum of conditions from the mild HIV-1 motor cognitive-motor disorder to severe and debilitating AIDS dementia.
What's Alzheimer's disease? - Alzheimer's disease is a form of degenerative brain disease resulting in progressive mental deterioration with disorientation, memory disturbance and confusion.
What types of Alzheimer's disease are there? - Types of Alzheimer's disease include early onset Alzheimer's, late-onset Alzheimer's, and familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD).
What're the stages of Alzheimer's disease? - Stages of Alzheimer's disease include no cognitive impairment, mild cognitive decline, moderate cognitive decline, moderately severe cognitive decline...
What causes Alzheimer's disease? - The ultimate cause or causes of Alzheimer's disease are still unknown, there are several risk factors that increase a person's likelihood of developing the disease.
What're the risk factors for Alzheimer's disease? - The risk for Alzheimer's disease increases with age. People with a family history of Alzheimer's have a greater risk.
What're the warning signs of Alzheimer's disease? - The warning signs of Alzheimer's disease include memory loss, difficulty performing familiar tasks, problems with language, poor or decreased judgment.
What're the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease? - The symptoms of Alzheimer's disease include memory lapses, perform routine tasks, loss of judgment, and personality or behavior changes.
How is Alzheimer's disease diagnosed? - Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is complex. Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease begins with a thorough physical exam and complete medical history.
What's the treatment for Alzheimer's disease? - Some treatments for Alzheimer's disease that can be used to help manage and ease the symptoms. Medications help alleviate the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and delusions.
What medications treat Alzheimer's disease? - Four medications, tacrine, donepezil, rivastigmine tartrate and galantamine, are used to improve intellectual function in some patients with Alzheimer's disease.
What's the dietary therapy for Alzheimer's disease? - Dietary therapy for Alzheimer's disease involves appropriate intake of darkly colored fruits and vegetables, soy, alcohol, folate and vitamin B12.
What's the exercise therapy for Alzheimer's disease? - Aerobic exercise is very important for helping to protect against mental decline during aging due to Alzheimer's disease.
What's the prognosis of Alzheimer's disease? - A person with Alzheimer's disease lives an average of eight years and as many as 20 years or more from the onset of symptoms.
What's vascular dementia? - Vascular dementia is a common form of dementia in older persons that is due to cerebrovascular disease, usually with stepwise deterioration.
What types of vascular dementia are there? - There are a number of different types of vascular dementia. Two of the most common are multi-infarct dementia, binswanger's disease.
What's multi-infarct dementia? - Multi-infarct dementia is the most common form of vascular dementia. Multi-infarct dementia is associated with atherosclerosis.
What is Binswanger's disease? - Binswanger's disease is a progressive neurological disorder characterized by injuries to the blood vessels supplying the deep white-matter of the brain.
What causes vascular dementia? - Vascular dementia can be caused in several different ways. Most commonly there is blockage of small blood vessels (arteries) deep within the brain.
What're risk factors for vascular dementia? - The risk factors for vascular dementia are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart rhythm problems.
What're the symptoms of vascular dementia? - Symptoms of vascular dementia include memory loss, difficulty doing usual daily activities, and a tendency to wander.
How is vascular dementia diagnosed? - Vascular dementia is diagnosed based on history, symptoms, signs, and tests, and by ruling out other causes of dementia.
What's the treatment for vascular dementia? - Treatment of vascular dementia is aimed at reducing the risk factors including stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease.
What's lewy body dementia? - Lewy body dementia is a progressive cause of dementia characterised by both cognitive problems and motor impairments.
What causes lewy body dementia? - Lewy body dementia is caused by abnormal microscopic deposits of protein in nerve cells. Lewy bodies appear in deteriorating nerve cells.
What're the symptoms of lewy body dementia? - Symptoms of lewy body dementia include a gradual loss of mental abilities, including orientation and memory, reasoning and intelligence.
How is lewy body dementia diagnosed? - Lewy body dementia is diagnosed by taking a careful history of the pattern of symptoms, and by excluding other possible causes.
What's the treatment for lewy body dementia? - There's no specific treatment for lewy body dementia. Treatment is directed at managing the signs and symptoms of the disease.
What is Pick's disease? - Pick disease is a brain disorder that causes slowly worsening decline of mental abilities. Pick's disease is a less common type of dementia.
What causes Pick's disease? - Pick's disease is a rare disorder similar to senile dementia/Alzheimer's type. Behavioral changes are prominent with loss of inhibition.
What're the symptoms of Pick's disease? - The signs and symptoms of Pick's disease include loss of intellectual abilities and changes in behavior and personality.
How is Pick's disease diagnosed? - Diagnosis of Pick's disease is based on initial diagnosis on history and symptoms, signs, and tests, and by ruling out other causes of dementia.
What's the treatment for Pick's disease? - There is no proven effective treatment for Pick's disease. Monitoring and assistance with self-care may be required.