Dementia

 

Dementia, which is on the rise, is a group of  symptoms affecting memory, thinking, and social abilities . In fact, it has become the fifth leading cause of death in our republic.  And dementia is a category for multiple diseases. But, the most common  dementia is Alzheimer's disease found in older adults. And, because of brain complexity, there has been  no effective treatment for this progressive disease.  This essay pertains to a few aspects of dementia.

The adult brain weighs about 3 pounds ;the size of a medium cauliflower with 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion synapses.  With that being said, there's essentially "three brains" of a human being.  There is the "Archaic Brain" typically found in lizards and snakes with  its  series of functions; the "Old Brain" typically found in cats and dogs with its series of functions and the "New Brain" found in humans with its functions. Essentially, the disease of Dementia is found in the three brains of the human which understandably makes it impossible ,at this point, to come up with the treatment to eradicate and/or reverse the progressive nature of the disease.

Significant parts within the brain include 1 .Brain Stem 2 .Cerebellum 3.  Thalamus 4.  Basal Ganglia 5.  Limbic System and more specifically-The Hypothalamus, Hippocampus and Amygdala 6. Cerebral Cortex 7 .Cerebral Cortex-Occipital Lobes 8.  Cerebral Cortex-Temporal Lobes 9.  Cerebral Cortex - Parietal Lobes 10.  Cerebral Cortex-Frontal Lobes.

Within brain functioning,there are Neurons and Glial cells in which there is a complex interacting network of neurons that send and receive messages that enable the brain to perceive the world, plan and carry out intentions and actions, think and solve problems, form and retrieve memories and generate emotions and moods. Glial and  other cells help neurons function and regulate neurotransmitters, clean up debris around neurons and protect neurons from potentially dangerous organisms and chemicals. Both neurons and glial cells are dysfunctional or destroyed In most major dementias .And,selected neurotransmitters involved  and affected in dementia include  acetylcholine, dopamine, serotonin and glutamate.

Memory loss is a major component found in dementia.Memory includes the past, present, and especially the future. We can broadly define memory as a time when a past experience has an effect on current or future behavior.  In fact, there is really no single thing called memory and when memory fails, we are left addressed in the sea of uncertainty and confusion with a sense of disconnectedness with ourselves and our world . In a sense we are our memories.

Briefly, there is 1.  Sensory Memory: perceiving which acts as buffers for stimuli perceived through the senses.  2.  Short-term  Memory: temporary storage and manipulation of information for language,comprehension,learning and reasoning.  Most people with dementia have long-term memory conversion,consolidation and retrieval deficits.3.

Within Long-- term memory: there is Declarative Memory for facts and events such as remembering dates ,historical facts ,telephone numbers and names of people that you know.   4.There is also Episodic Declarative Memory, which is for personally experienced events such as what you ate for dinner last night, what happened to you 25 years ago. 5.There is also Semantic Declarative Memory, which is not tied to one particular time, like your name, the kind of car you drive, words of the language, phone numbers, and arithmetic operations And 6. Procedural Memory  which is the retention of the ability to engage in motor activities such as making coffee, driving a car, tying shoestrings and playing a sport-sometimes called muscle memory.

Brains reach maximum size in our teens .About age 25   brain volume in healthy people begins to decline .And, continually over the years , there’s a loss of neurons and  neuron connections .Further,there’s  also reduced blood flow to the brain but the brain is able to learn and make connections throughout adult life, especially for people who exercise regularly and engage in mental workouts.

With brain autopsies, a recent study found that heavier people have smaller brains  with  most  of the atrophy in areas involved in cognitive functions such as memory, attention, planning and decision-making.  Obesity is also associated with vascular damage in the brain related to high blood pressure and elevated LDL cholesterol, which impedes oxygen and nutrients to neurons .

A few  examples related to the structure and wiring taking place in the shrinking brains with dementia include the following . The insides of the brain may shrink to one third  at the time of death. It’s not the skull size ,but the structure, chemistry and wiring connections that change. This means  there's less fuel burning ,less visual processing, less decision-making, less logic and less ability to understand another point of view .

Also, other changes take place. For instance, those who were generally explosive and high strung become more emotional,and more impulsive with their outbursts.  Individuals that  were low conflict oriented  become  more  withdrawn and  shy away from  potential conflict. And those that were fearful before become excessively more timid and fearful.These individuals also have  more difficulty surviving as their sleep cycles and eating behavior change. They sleep less and crave glucose .

Learning and memory is severely affected and so they have difficulty learning new information, storing information  and expressing that material . In fact,  with their limited  reasoning ability , their brain creates fiction and misinformation and lies to themselves. They make up new and false information 

On a positive note, their hearing remains fairly intact .When they ask the same question it's because they did not originally comprehend what was said. It is not hearing loss but language comprehension.  They have difficulty in loud environments such as restaurants, family gatherings and so forth because they have difficulty comprehending what was said  along with being able to remember and respond.  Rhythmic music,and chitchatting seems to be preserved.

Their sense of identity, self-esteem and being becomes greatly diminished.  Once upon a time they were smart, creative, productive, confident, independent while being fully  engaged in life’s offerings.  Goals were achieved, challenges met and obstacles diminished.  Then, as time progressed, they became less capable, less independent ,  their ability is  greatly diminished in so many areas and they became fearful and dependent.  It's like a retrogression, a radical transformation  from being a fully functioning  adult  to becoming more childlike. They even think of themselves as stupid. It's so sad to witness this awful change taking place with this  dreadful disease. 

ReferenceUnderstanding Dementia .Institute For Natural Resources .