Dementia is a mental disorder found commonly in people after the age of 65 years. People suffering with dementia might forget things, may get mood swings and also there might be adverse personality changes in that person.

1) Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of Dementia. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for almost 60% of all cases of Dementia in people. Alzheimer’s disease slowly destroys the brain cells and nerves severely disrupting them from sending messages from the brain to the other parts of the body. Some parts of the brain begin to shrink as gaps begin to develop in the hippocampus and the temporal lobe.

These two regions are responsible for storing and retrieving information. The production of certain chemicals in the brain is also hampered. The most common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease is loss of memory, loss of language and sudden changes in mood. A person may also forget past events like the places he or she went to and the things that he or she had done in their life.

2) Vascular Dementia

This is the second most common cause of Dementia. Vascular Dementia accounts for 20% of the total cases of Dementia in people. Vascular Dementia results when the blood vessels of the brain begin to deteriorate. As a result the brain might not be provided with enough oxygen. Due to the short supply of oxygen to the brain cells the brain cells begin to die. The symptoms range from sudden mood changes to severe depression to epilepsy.

3) Dementia with Lewy bodies

Dementia with Lewy bodies assumes the third rank for the most common causes of Dementia. It may occur in 20% of the cases of Dementia. Dementia with Lewy bodies results due to the death of nerve cells in the brain. Dementia with Lewy bodies affects the concentration of the person and also may result in frequent memory lapses.

4) Fronto-temporal Dementias

These types of Dementias are relatively rare in comparisons to other causes of Dementia. Fronto-temporal Dementias normally occur in people of 50 years of age when the frontal lobe in the brain becomes affected. As a result the brain cells get damaged gradually and it results in sudden mood changes.

5) Consumption of too much alcohol

This is also a common cause of Dementia. Excessive drinking affects memory adversely.

6) HIV Virus

The HIV virus which often leads to AIDS can also be a cause of Dementia. The disease has been found in people suffering from HIV in the early stages of contracting HIV.

One cause of Dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. This disease has been known to attack elderly people and cause them to forget things about themselves. Alzheimer’s disease does not pick on whom to inflict. If it is bound to happen, it will happen. Even famous people can have Alzheimer’s. Here are some known personalities who had this disease and short stories about how they went on with their life having Alzheimer’s:

President Ronald Reagan

Credit: wikimedia.org

The late President Reagan was one of those people who suffered from this fatal memory loss. Though the symptoms were realized years after his term had ended, he might had some hints of waning mental abilities when he was still in the White House. He once joked to his doctor on one of his regular checkups, “I have three things that I want to tell you today. The first is that I seem to be having a little problem with my memory. I cannot remember the other two.” People with Alzheimer’s disease seem to know that something is not right even during the early stages.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

This renowned author also suffered dementia during the latter years of his life. The disease caused him to forget even his own name. However, his response to the disease was a lot different from normal. He accepted his condition well and he didn’t seem to realize the gravity of his situation.

Willem de Kooning

de Kooning was an artist known for his dark, introspective and complex paintings during his earlier years. As he got old, he suffered from Dementia which was likely due to Alzheimer’s disease. During those years when he cannot remember anything from his past, he still continued on with his love for art. Apparently, his theme changed into brighter, lighter, and livelier work full of colors. Alzheimer’s can cause people to have a fresh, new insight on familiar things.

Aaron Copland

Composer Aaron Copland started experiencing the symptoms of Alzheimer’s in his late 70s. With the condition, he easily forgot where he was and did not remember questions thrown at him as well as his responses. Surprisingly, given the nature of the condition, he was still able to conduct his masterpiece “Appalachian Spring” until he died. Suffering from the disease isolated him to his social world.

People with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease have different reactions and responses to their condition. But however they view the situation, the important thing is these people should be taken care of and showered with attention to be able to gracefully cope with the disease.