ABSTRACT
Dementia is a clinical syndrome with several causes which creates impairments in mental ability, personality, affect and socialisation. Dementia is a clinical syndrome with several causes, which leads to a variety of disabilities: cognitive, emotional and physical. Vascular dementia may show a step-wise deterioration. Lewy body dementia may present with visual hallucinations and fronto-temporal dementia with personality changes and disorders of executive function. Depression is the most recognisable potentially reversible condition, and it is also a risk factor for dementia. There is a high prevalence of comorbidity in older people with dementia, especially cardiovascular diseases and depression. Most of the risk factors for dementia are exactly the same as those for cardiovascular diseases: type 2 diabetes, smoking, hypertension, obesity. In many countries the role of the Family doctor is limited in the respect of dementia. Reminiscing activities can help seniors with dementia feel contented and peaceful, enhance positive feelings, improve mood, reduce agitation and minimise challenging behaviours such as wandering.
