There鈥檚 no cure for dementia. But a study recently published in the journal Neurology found evidence to suggest reading, writing and playing games throughout your life can slow the disease's progress. Dr. Kevin Conner, a neurologist and the director of the Stroke Center at Texas Health Arlington Memorial hospital, explains why in this edition of Vital Signs.
Causes, symptoms and treatment of Dementia:
There are several situations that could cause dementia:
- Diseases that cause degeneration or loss of nerve cells in the brain such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's.
- Diseases that affect vessels, such as , which can cause a disorder known as multi-infarct dementia.
- Toxic reactions, like excessive alcohol or drug use.
- Nutritional deficiencies, like vitamin B12 and folate deficiency.
- Infections that affect the brain and spinal cord, such as dementia complex and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
- Certain types of hydrocephalus, an accumulation of fluid in the brain that can result from developmental abnormalities, infections, injury, or .
- -- either a single severe head injury or chronic smaller injuries that often occur from boxing.
- Illnesses other than in the brain, such as , , and , can all lead to dementia.
Which Dementias Are Treatable?
- Dementia due to long-term substance abuse.
- Tumors that can be removed.
- , accumulation of blood beneath the outer covering of the brain as a result of a broken blood vessel, usually caused by head injury.
- Normal-pressure hydrocephalus.
- , such as a .
- , a condition that results from an underactive .
- , a condition that results from .
What Are Some of the Untreatable Causes of Dementia?
- Alzheimer's disease.
- Multi-infarct dementia (Dementia due to multiple small strokes).
- Dementias associated with and similar disorders.
- AIDS dementia complex.
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a quickly progressing and fatal disease that consists of dementia and muscle and spasm.
- WebMD.com
