Dementia describes a group of symptoms such as memory loss, impaired judgment, confusion and behavioural changes, which are severe enough to cause loss of function.
Dementia is not part of normal aging, though the elderly are more prone. Dementia occurs when the brain function gradually fails, affecting day-to-day activities.
While there is no way to prevent dementia, it is possible to lower the risk of dementia by:
Risk factors of dementia include:
Some causes of dementia include:
Young Onset Dementia (YOD)
There is an increasing number of patients with YOD. This refers to dementia patients who are below 65 years old. The increased number could be due to rising awareness, resulting in more being diagnosed. It could also be due to the higher prevalence of vascular risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes.
Other tests include:
Left - Normal Right - DementiaShrinkage of the brain in Dementia patients
Some causes of dementia may be reversible but at present, there is no cure for the common causes such as Alzheimer's Disease and Vascular Dementia.
Medications are used to manage the signs. Appropriate care facilities, behavioural therapies, counselling, and education are available to improve care for patients and their families.
For available programmes, speak to your attending doctor.
Support for Dementia
Research on Dementia
As there is still much to learn about dementia, NNI’s research team is actively involved in clinical trials and research studies that require patient participation.
Your participation in research is important because it helps us:
Speak to your doctor about NNI research programmes.
Download the Dementia brochure
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