What does dementia mean?

Definitions for dementia
dɪˈmɛn ʃə, -ʃi əde·men·ti·a

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word dementia.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. dementia, dementednessnoun

    mental deterioration of organic or functional origin

Wiktionary

  1. dementianoun

    A progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Areas particularly affected include memory, attention, judgement, language and problem solving.

  2. dementianoun

    madness or insanity

Wikipedia

  1. Dementia

    Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affects a person's ability to function and carry out everyday activities. Aside from memory impairment and a disruption in thought patterns, the most common symptoms include emotional problems, difficulties with language, and decreased motivation. The symptoms may be described as occurring in a continuum over several stages. Consciousness is not affected. Dementia ultimately has a significant effect on the individual, caregivers, and on social relationships in general. A diagnosis of dementia requires the observation of a change from a person's usual mental functioning and a greater cognitive decline than what is caused by normal aging.Several diseases and injuries to the brain such as a stroke can give rise to dementia. However, the most common cause is Alzheimer's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), has re-described dementia as either a mild or major neurocognitive disorder with varying degrees of severity and many causative subtypes. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) also classes dementia as a neurocognitive disorder (NCD) with many forms or subclasses. Dementia is listed as an acquired brain syndrome, marked by a decline in cognitive function, and is contrasted with neurodevelopmental disorders. Dementia is also described as a spectrum of disorders with causative subtypes of dementia based on a known disorder, such as Parkinson's disease, for Parkinson's disease dementia; Huntington's disease, for Huntington's disease dementia; vascular disease, for vascular dementia; HIV infection, causing HIV dementia; frontotemporal lobar degeneration for frontotemporal dementia; or Lewy body disease for dementia with Lewy bodies, and prion diseases. Subtypes of neurodegenerative dementias may also be based on the underlying pathology of misfolded proteins such as synucleinopathies, and tauopathies. More than one type of dementia existing together is known as mixed dementia.Many neurocognitive disorders may be caused by another medical condition or disorder that includes brain tumours, and subdural hematoma; endocrine disorders such as hypothyroidism, and hypoglycemia; nutritional deficiencies including thiamine, and niacin; infections, immune disorders, liver or kidney failure, metabolic disorders such as Kufs disease, and some leukodystrophies, and neurological disorders such as epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis. Some of the neurocognitive deficits may sometimes show improvement with treatment of the medical condition.Diagnosis is usually based on history of the illness and cognitive testing with imaging. Blood tests may be taken to rule out other possible causes that may be reversible, such as hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid), and to determine the dementia subtype. One commonly used cognitive test is the Mini-Mental State Examination. The greatest risk factor for developing dementia is aging, however dementia is not a normal part of aging. Many people aged 90 and above show no signs of dementia. Several risk factors for dementia, such as smoking and obesity, are preventable by lifestyle changes. Screening the general older population for the disorder is not seen to affect the outcome.Dementia is currently the seventh leading cause of death worldwide and has 10 million new cases reported every year (one every ~3 seconds). There is no known cure for dementia. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors such as donepezil are often used and may be beneficial in mild to moderate disorder. The overall benefit, however, may be minor. There are many measures that can improve the quality of life of people with dementia and their caregivers. Cognitive and behavioral interventions may be appropriate for treating associated symptoms of depression.

ChatGPT

  1. dementia

    Dementia is a chronic or progressive brain disorder characterized by a decline in cognitive functions such as memory, thinking, language, problem-solving and judgment, often severe enough to interfere with a person's daily life and activities. It can also cause altered moods or behaviours. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia. The condition is mostly seen in elderly people, but it's not a normal part of aging.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Dementianoun

    insanity; madness; esp. that form which consists in weakness or total loss of thought and reason; mental imbecility; idiocy

  2. Etymology: [L., fr. demens. See Dement.]

Wikidata

  1. Dementia

    Dementia is a serious loss of global cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal ageing. It may be static, the result of a unique global brain injury, or progressive, resulting in long-term decline due to damage or disease in the body. Although dementia is far more common in the geriatric population, it can occur before the age of 65, in which case it is termed "early onset dementia". Dementia is not a single disease, but a non-specific syndrome. Affected cognitive areas can be memory, attention, language, and problem solving. Normally, symptoms must be present for at least six months to support a diagnosis. Cognitive dysfunction of shorter duration is called delirium. Especially in later stages of the condition, subjects may be disoriented in time, in place, and in person. Dementia can be classified as either reversible or irreversible, depending upon the etiology of the disease. Fewer than 10% of cases of dementia are due to causes that may be reversed with treatment.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Dementia

    de-men′shi-a, n. general mental enfeeblement, with loss of memory, reason, feeling, and will: often the consequence of acute mania. [L. de, neg., and mens, mentis, mind.]

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. Dementia

    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.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of dementia in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of dementia in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of dementia in a Sentence

  1. Pierre Tariot:

    As a field, we have failed, it isn't just the doctors in the trenches. Medical schools, professional organizations and health care systems have not recognized the importance of identification and management of people with dementia.

  2. Peter Nelson:

    These age-related dementia diseases are frequently associated with proteinaceous glop, but different proteins can contribute to the glop.

  3. Judith Stein:

    Since then, we've learned otherwise, certainly oral health is extremely important systemically, and we're even learning that untreated hearing loss can increase things like falls and dementia.

  4. Richard Isaacson:

    Those are drugs for symptomatic people with mild or worse dementia, those drugs work for symptoms but don't slow disease progression.

  5. Caitlin McAuley:

    Plenty of older patients who've had Covid feel like they now have dementia. But when they do the testing, all their higher-level cognitive functioning is intact, and it's things like attention or cognitive fluency that are impaired, it's important to understand where deficits are so we can target therapy appropriately.

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Translations for dementia

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"dementia." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 31 Oct. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/dementia>.

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