What Causes Dementia

Dr. Joseph Franzetti, practices Correctional Medicine and Psychiatry. One of his specialties is geriatrics, which is caring for the elder with mental disorders. Dr. Joseph Franzetti is committed to his patients and is also committed to providing people with education about his specialties. Dementia is a mental disorder that people begin to see signs of later in life. Does someone you know seem to be showing signs of dementia? Are you wondering what may have caused dementia to strike a loved one? Well here is some helpful information about the geriatric condition that affects many people in the elder community.

What Causes Dementia?

There are several situations that could cause dementia:

• Diseases that cause degeneration or loss of nerve cells in the brain such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's.
• Diseases that affect blood vessels, such as stroke, which can cause a disorder known as multi-infarct dementia.
• Toxic reactions, like excessive alcohol or drug use.
• Nutritional deficiencies, like vitamin B12 and folate deficiency.
• Infections that affect the brain and spinal cord, such as AIDS dementia complex and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
• Certain types of hydrocephalus, an accumulation of fluid in the brain that can result from developmental abnormalities, infections, injury, or brain tumors.
• Head injury -- either a single severe head injury or chronic smaller injuries that often occur from boxing.
• Illnesses other than in the brain, such as kidney, liver, and lung diseases, can all lead to dementia.

Alzheimer's disease causes 50% to 60% of all dementias. But researchers have found that two nervous diseases, which were originally incorrectly diagnosed as Alzheimer's, are emerging as major causes of dementia: Lewy body disease and Pick's disease.

To read the full article click here: Dementia