Every form of dementia falls into one of two categories: cortical or subcortical. Cortical links to the cortex or gray matter, while subcortical deals with the white matter. Gray matter within the brain is the brain cells. White matter controls how fast signals get sent between the brain cells.The type of dementia your parent has dictates the symptoms. Someone with cortical dementia starts with problems remembering details. It progresses into difficulties finding words or understanding instructions or what people are saying. Subcortical dementia sees personality changes and slower thought processing to start with.
Cortical Dementia
Cortical dementia includes four dementias: Alzheimer's, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and frontotemporal dementia. Key early symptoms for all of these include difficulties with comprehension, memory loss, finding the right word. As the diseases advance, anger, frustration, wandering, vision changes, and difficulty with motor skills can occur.
- Alzheimer's disease – Alzheimer's is a progressive condition where brain function deteriorates over time. Signals between neurons get blocked and cause brain cells to die. According to the Alzheimer's Association, the average life span is eight years after symptoms appear.
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease – Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease occurs when the brain's tissue begins to die off. It affects a patient faster than Alzheimer's and causes memory loss, problems making judgments and decisions, and eventually mobility and vision.
- Frontotemporal dementia – FTD involves the loss of nerve cells in the frontal lobes of the brain. People with FTD have a hard time forming sentences or understanding what others are saying. It usually is diagnosed at an earlier age than Alzheimer's.
Binswanger's disease, Huntington's disease, and Parkinson's are all forms of subcortical dementia. With these, the early stages include personality changes and slowed skills when it comes to processing information.
- Binswanger's disease – With Binswanger's, arteries traveling to the white matter thicken and harden. As they do, they shrink and the flow of blood to the white matter reduces. Over time, the brain cells die. Prevalent symptoms include slowed speech, personality changes, and slowed physical motions.
- Huntington's disease – Huntington's is usually diagnosed in a person's 30s and 40s. With this disease, the nerve cells die leading to problems with mobility and the ability to swallow or talk.
- Parkinson's – Parkinson's patients often have tremors and slow, uneven movements. It happens when nerve cells die. While not as common as Alzheimer's, almost 1 million men and women in the U.S. have
When your mom or dad is diagnosed with dementia, you must build a support team. The early stages may seem easy, but they don't last forever. Family caregiving is hard emotionally and physically. Look into elderly care as early as possible. You'll appreciate having someone to spell you, even if it's only an hour a day. Call an elderly care service today to learn more about dementia care.
Sources:
http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp#basics
http://www.pdf.org/about_pd
If you or an aging loved one are considering elderly care in Jupiter Island, FL, contact the caring staff at BrightStar Care of Jupiter. Call today (561) 741-1200.
About the Author – Jack Nicol, Owner
BrightStar is a private duty Home Care Agency that provides unskilled and skilled care for people needing assistance in their home or a facility. We opened our agency in Jupiter, FL 6 years ago. Our service area is Northern Palm Beach & Martin Counties. BrightStar is a Home Care Agency not a Nurse Registry.
I have always been passionate about helping people. My entire adult life I have focused on giving back to the community. Five years ago when I decided I was not ready for retirement, I founded BrightStar and started a new career. Caring for people in need has proven to be very rewarding and proof that I made the right decision for my new career.
BrightStar Home Care is a Joint Commission Accredited Private Duty Home Care Agency. Our goal is to offer superior and passionate caregiving of skilled and unskilled services. We service those in need including special needs children/adults and the elderly throughout our community whether in their home or a facility. Our Joint Commission Accreditation holds our agency to a higher professional standard.