What Causes Dementia And How To Prevent It
What Is Dementia?
Dementia is a catch-all term to describe a variety of neurological, degenerative diseases that affect cognition. When we think of it, however, we're often thinking specifically of Alzheimer's. But what are dementia's signs and symptoms?
And can it be prevented?
Diagnosing Dementia
Diagnosing dementia is done through a combination of cognitive tests; imaging like CT scans or an MRI; and blood tests to rule out other causes.
Causes Of Dementia: Proteins
Many causes of dementia are due to protein misfolding, which can cause brain damage and lead to the symptoms of dementia.
This is most prevalent in Alzheimer's disease, where the misfolding ends up causing inflammation in the brain that affects cognition.
Causes Of Dementia: Vascular Dementia
Although protein misfolding is the culprit behind a great amount of dementia cases, there is also vascular dementia. This results from improper blood flow to the brain, usually from a stroke.
Causes of Dementia: Other Issues
More rarely, dementia can also be caused by things like Parkinson's disease, Dementia with Lewy bodies, syphilis, and HIV. There are also cases of "mixed dementia," generally with Alzheimer's and vascular dementia being combined factors.
