Vascular dementia: causes, symptoms and treatment

Dementia is not the same as dementia: an overview of the different forms

The clinical picture of dementia is common and well known. Anyone who thinks regarding dementia or talks regarding the disease usually uses predefined images and assumptions. Dementia is equated with terms like senility, memory loss and even Alzheimer’s. But dementia is not the same as dementia. There are many different forms of the disease, different causes and manifestations and far more symptoms than the commonly known memory loss.

The generic term “dementia” refers to progressive impairment of brain performance with effects not only on memory but also on thinking itself. Depending on the severity of the disease, this also has an impact on the ability of those affected to act independently. Character changes are not uncommon.

Medicinally becomes between two groups of dementia diseases: the primary dementia and the secondary. Primary dementias originate in the brain and are described as independent diseases. The most common and well-known form of primary dementia is Alzheimer’s. Secondary dementias are dementia-like consequences of other diseases. In particular, strong alcohol addiction or hormone metabolism diseases can trigger secondary dementias. Only regarding every tenth dementia is of a secondary nature. The majority of dementia diseases arise directly in the brain.

There is a whole range of different primary dementia diseases. In addition to the most common form of Alzheimer’s, other diseases are also observed, such as:

• vascular dementia
• Lewy-Body-Demenz
• Frontotemporal Dementia
• mixed forms

Vascular dementia: definition of the disease

Vascular dementia is the second most common form of primary dementia. At least ten percent of all dementia sufferers suffer from some form of vascular dementia. This will go through circulatory disorders of the brain triggered. As a result of a lack of blood flow to one or more brain areas, damage to the tissue cells occurs there. If brain cells die due to the disrupted blood supply, classic dementia signs can appear. Damage caused by circulatory disorders in the brain tissue is irreversible, i.e. it cannot be repaired. Vascular dementia is a persistent, but in most cases progressive, dementing disease.

The symptoms and severity of vascular dementia are very individual. Depending on the part of the brain in which circulatory disorders occur and how many areas are affected by the disorders, the signs can differ.