ABSTRACT
Dementia is a condition resulting in the decline of at least two brain functions severe enough to impair daily function in a previously healthy adult. The most common types include Alzheimer’s disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), mixed dementia, dementia that may occur with Parkinson’s disease or as a result of severe head injury or anoxia, and rarer types of dementia, including Lewy-body dementia (DLB), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), Pick’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and Huntington’s disease. Of these, AD is by far the most common, followed in prevalence by VaD or a combination of causes, usually called mixed dementia. Because of the complexity and severity of both medical and social problems facing an individual with dementia, a broad and interdisciplinary approach to care is extremely important. An individual diagnosed with dementia is facing a current and possibly progressive decline in his or her ability to function as an adult. Family and loved ones are dealing with the loss of this person functioning in his or her expected social roles. Dementia is rarely a painful condition. However, the array of serious physical and emotional symptoms requiring skilled management is extensive.
