Geriatric Disorders

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Dementia is not a specific disease. It's an overall term that describes a wide range of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to reduce a person's ability to perform everyday activities. 

Listed below are some but not all disorders experienced by our older patients.

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. 

The brain changes caused by Parkinson's disease begin in a region that plays a key role in movement. As Parkinson's brain changes gradually spread, they often begin to affect mental functions, including memory and the ability to pay attention, make sound judgments and plan the steps needed to complete a task.

A progressive brain disorder in which microscopic protein deposits, called Lewy bodies, develop in the brain. Lewy body dementia (LBD) has symptoms that often include changes in thinking, problem solving, memory and movement.

Vascular dementia occurs when vessels that supply blood to the brain become blocked or narrowed. Strokes take place when the supply of blood carrying oxygen to the brain is suddenly cut off. However, not all people with stroke will develop vascular dementia.

Mixed dementia, sometimes known clinically as "Dementia - multifactoral", is a dementia condition characterized by symptoms and abnormalities of more than one type of dementia at once. The symptoms of mixed dementia may progress faster or be manifested earlier because the brain is affected by more than one type of problem or damaged in more than one area.