Basics
- Defined as a loss in previously attained intellectual abilities that is severe enough to affect everyday life.
- Memory problems are the most common sign
- Affects up to 11% of adults >65%
- Most commonly caused by Alzheimer disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and vascular dementia
Symptoms and Signs
- Memory loss plus impairment in one of the following areas: language, perception, visuospatial function, calculation, judgement, abstraction or problem solving skills
Demographics
- Increased in people older than 65
Diagnosis
- A clinical diagnosis in most cases
- Blood test to rule out reversible causes of dementia (such as B12 def)
- Brain biopsy- normally reserved for a chronic progressive disorder with an unusual course
Treatment
- Dependent on underlying cause
Prognosis
- Dependent on underlying cause
Differential Diagnosis
- Alzheimers
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, AIDS encephalopathy
- Brain tumor such as a low grade astrocytoma
- Parkinson disease
- B12, niacin, thiamine deficiency
- Depression