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DementiaNote: If you are having an emergency or have thoughts of harming yourself or someone else, please pick up a phone and dial 911. Dementia (from Latin de- "apart, away" + mens (genitive mentis) "mind") is the progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Although dementia is far more common in the geriatric population, it may occur in any stage of adulthood. This age cutoff is by definition, as similar sets of symptoms due to organic brain dysfunction are given different names, such as developmental disorders, in populations younger than adulthood. In dementia, affected areas in cognition may be memory, attention, language, and problem solving. Especially in the later stages of the condition, affected persons may be disoriented in time (not knowing what day of the week, day of the month, month, or even what year it is), in place (not knowing where they are), and in person (not knowing who they are). Symptoms of dementia can be classified as either reversible or irreversible depending upon the etiology of the disease. Less than 10 percent of cases of dementia are due to causes which may presently be reversed with treatment. Dementia is a term for a non-specific illness syndrome (set of symptoms) which is caused by many different specific disease processes, in the same way that symptoms of organ dysfunction such as shortness of breath, jaundice, or pain are attributable to many etiologies. Without careful assessment of history, the short-term syndrome of delirium can easily be confused with dementia, because many of the symptoms of these are also present in dementia. Some mental illnesses including depression and psychosis may also produce symptoms which must be differentiated from both delirium and dementia.[1] 7401 Wiles Road, Suite #150, Coral Springs, FL 33067 |