Canadian Medical Guide > Diseases > Nervous System Diseases > Central Nervous System Diseases > Brain Diseases > Dementia Terms and Definitions

Dementia

Medical Definition:

An acquired organic mental disorder with loss of intellectual abilities of sufficient severity to interfere with social or occupational functioning. The dysfunction is multifaceted and involves memory, behavior, personality, judgment, attention, spatial relations, language, abstract thought, and other executive functions. The intellectual decline is usually progressive, and initially spares the level of consciousness.

Also Called:

Familial Dementia,Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration,Semantic Dementia,Senile Paranoid Dementia

Dementia Categories.

	Alzheimer Disease - A degenerative disease of the brain characterized by the insidious onset of dementia. Impairment of memory, judgement, attention span, and problem solving skills are followed by severe APRAXIAS and a global loss of cognitive abilities. The condition primarily occurs after age 60, and is marked pathologically by severe cortical atrophy and the triad of SENILE PLAQUES; NEUROFIBRILLARY TANGLES; and NEUROPIL THREADS. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp1049-57)
	Aphasia, Primary Progressive - A progressive form of dementia characterized by the global loss of language abilities and initial preservation of other cognitive functions. Fluent and nonfluent subtypes have been described. Eventually a pattern of global cognitive dysfunction, similar to ALZHEIMER DISEASE, emerges. Pathologically, there are no Alzheimer or PICK DISEASE like changes, however, spongiform changes of cortical layers II and III are present in the TEMPORAL LOBE and FRONTAL LOBE. (From Brain 1998 Jan;121(Pt 1):115-26)
	Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome - A rare transmissible encephalopathy most prevalent between the ages of 50 and 70 years. Affected individuals may present with sleep disturbances, personality changes, ATAXIA; APHASIA, visual loss, weakness, muscle atrophy, MYOCLONUS, progressive dementia, and death within one year of disease onset. A familial form exhibiting autosomal dominant inheritance and a new variant CJD (potentially associated with ENCEPHALOPATHY, BOVINE SPONGIFORM) have been described. Pathological features include prominent cerebellar and cerebral cortical spongiform degeneration and the presence of PRIONS. (From N Engl J Med, 1998 Dec 31;339(27))
	Kluver-Bucy Syndrome - A neurobehavioral syndrome associated with bilateral medial temporal lobe dysfunction. Clinical manifestations include oral exploratory behavior; tactile exploratory behavior; hypersexuality; BULIMIA; MEMORY DISORDERS; placidity; and an inability to recognize objects or faces. This disorder may result from a variety of conditions, including CRANIOCEREBRAL TRAUMA; infections; ALZHEIMER DISEASE; PICK DISEASE OF THE BRAIN; and CEREBROVASCULAR DISORDERS.
	Pick Disease of the Brain - A rare form of DEMENTIA that is sometimes familial. Clinical features include APHASIA; APRAXIA; CONFUSION; ANOMIA; memory loss; and personality deterioration. This pattern is consistent with the pathologic findings of circumscribed atrophy of the poles of the FRONTAL LOBE and TEMPORAL LOBE. Neuronal loss is maximal in the HIPPOCAMPUS, entorhinal cortex, and AMYGDALA. Some ballooned cortical neurons contain argentophylic (Pick) bodies. (From Brain Pathol 1998 Apr;8(2):339-54; Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp1057-9)

Dementia Medical Definitions and Terms

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Dementia

Dementia Medical Definitions and Terms

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