Dementia is now said to be the leading cause of death in England and Wales, according to Office for National Statistics figures.
Hidden camera shows woman stealing from the handbag of her neighbour with dementia
The figures mean that dementia, including Alzheimer’s Disease, has now overtaken heart disease as the leading cause of death.
More than 61,000 people died from dementia last year, which accounts for 11.6% of all deaths recorded in England and Wales.
According to the ONS, dementia overtaking heart disease as the leading cause of death due to the ageing population.
There is also a suggestion that dementia is now being more effectively diagnosed.
Here is everything about the condition including symptoms and how it can lead to death.
What is dementia?
Dementia is not considered to be a disease but a series of symptoms resulting from damage to the brain that typically lead to memory loss.
Alzheimer’s disease (the most common form), vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia and advanced dementia are all types of dementia.
It is believed that two abnormal structures called ‘plagues’ and ‘tangles’ are believed to cause the damage to nerve cells in the brain.
Plagues are deposits of protein fragment ‘beta-amyloid that build up in the spaces between nerve cells, according to the Alzheimer’s Society, while tangles are twisted fibres of another protein known as ‘tau’ that builds up inside cells.
Contrary to what some people may believe, but Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of the aging process.
Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia
Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common cause of dementia. Symptoms include: memory loss such as forgetting messages, remembering names or routes and asking questions repeatedly, increased difficulties with tasks and activities that require organisation and planning, becoming confused in unfamiliar environments, depression, difficulty finding the rights words, changes in personality, and difficulty with numbers.
Vascular dementia symptoms include the above but muscle weakness on one side of the body is possible as are stroke-like symptoms.
Symptoms of dementia with Lewy bodies include periods of alertness, drowsiness, confusion, hallucinations, becoming slower in their physical movements.
Symptoms to frontoteporal dementia typically include changes in emotion, personality and behaviour. People may also lose their inhibitions.
Advanced dementia symptoms include not recognising members of close family and friends as well as not remembering where they lives or being able to recognise where they are.
These symptoms can be mild or the onset can come on very gradually making it difficult to notice and leading to inaction for the first few years. Other symptoms in later dementia include incontinence, bowel incontinence and reduced mobility.
With dementia over time the brain becomes more damaged and doesn’t work as well, which is why it is often important to talk to a GP as soon as possible. It also means that one dementia sufferer’s symptoms can be very different from another’s.
It is also possible to suffer more than one dementia condition.
How does dementia kill?
Dementia is a progressive disease meaning that symptoms worsen gradually over time.
In late-stage Alzheimer’s people lose the ability to have conversations, respond to their environment and eventually how to control their own movement, according to the Alzheimer’s Society.
Often people with late-stage dementia require round-the-clock care, they can lose their physical abilities including walking and sitting – and even swallowing, and they can becoming at increased risk of catching infections, especially pneumonia. They may also have difficulty with bladder and bowel functions.
While some people with dementia die from conditions related to the above – especially pneumonia, others may die as a result of complications related to loss of brain function and heart attack. People with dementia may also died due to dehydration, malnutrition and falls.
Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2016/11/14/what-is-dementia-what-are-the-symptoms-and-how-does-it-kill-6257077/#ixzz4a57cq2Zx
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