WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DEMENTIA?
1. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common type of degenerating Dementia, constituting 60% to 80% of all dementia. There is accelerated cell death as age advances leading to progressive problems in memory, language, and behavior.
2. Vascular Dementia (VaD) is the second most common type of Dementia, more prevalent among the Asian population, especially in India. Here the vascular risk factors (high BP, Diabetes, Cholesterol, obesity, Tobacco, stroke, etc) are in epidemic form, and these are the risk factors for both types of Dementia (AD and VaD).
3. Lewy Body Dementia There is enactment of dreams, visual hallucinations, and or Parkinsonian symptoms besides memory problems.
4. Frontotemporal Dementia May have progressive problems with language or mainly behavior, to begin with.
5. Post-traumatic or Dementia Pugilistica is seen in patients with H/O head injury or in certain sports, and occupations where athletes have repeated trauma of the head e.g., in footballers/Soccer players, Boxers, etc., and soldiers.
6. Parkinson; ‘s Disease characterized by slowness, tremors, and loss of postural balance subsequently develops into Dementia.
7. Huntington’s disease causes problems in behavior, involuntary movements, and Dementia.
8. Cruetzfeldt – Jakob disease rapidly progressive dementia with myoclonus.
Other causes of Dementia that may be reversible:-
- Dementia due to Vitamin Deficiencies (Vit B), Thyroid Disorders, and side effects of certain medicines.
- Dementia due to autoimmune disorders, infections (CNS Tuberculosis, Neurocysticercosis, HIV etc).
- Dementia due to Brain Tumors, Subdural hematoma, Normal pressure hydrocephalus, etc.
