Dementia The number of deaths is rising in the United States.

The worrying increase in dementia in the United States has recently been exposed in a report published by the National Center for Health Statistics. It shows that the death rate from dementia has more than doubled in the last 17 years. The current level is 66.7 deaths per 100 people in 2017, compared to 30.5 in 2000.

Dementia is not a specific disease, but a term used to describe a group of symptoms related to memory decline and other thinking abilities. This decline affects the patient's ability to perform daily tasks.

The lead author of the report, Dr. Ellen Kramarow, is a health statistician with the Aging and Chronic Disease Statistics Branch at the National Center for Health Statistics. She recently explained that since people are living longer now, they are at higher risk of dementia.

The data used for the search was based on information from death records filed in 50 states and in the District of Columbia. Four types of dementia were examined and the authors took into account their age: Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, unspecified dementia and other degenerative diseases of the nervous system, as recognized by the International Clbadification of Diseases .

With 261,914 deaths from Alzheimer's disease, or 46% of the case studies, scientists stress the need for further research on this disease. The causes of Alzheimer's are not completely understood, but are beginning to understand how it affects the brain. Neurons, the cells responsible for communication throughout the brain, are destroyed as the disease progresses.

There is no test to diagnose dementia. According to the Alzheimer's Organization, physicians refer to the patient's medical history and include physical examination, laboratory tests, and characteristic changes in thinking, daily functions, and behavior. The results of the combination of these will indicate the presence of dementia with a high degree of certainty, but it is more difficult to determine the exact type. According to the badociation, this is because symptoms and brain changes of various types may overlap and often doctors do not specify the type of dementia.

Neurologists and psychologists specialized in psychology are more specialized in understanding these overlaps and can often make a more accurate diagnosis and often, cases of Alzheimer's disease can only be definitively diagnosed after the death of the patient. patient. Sections of the brain will reveal the presence of amyloid plaques and neurofibillary tangles unique to Alzheimer's disease.

As degeneration of dementia occurs in a patient, external symptoms change and, as with any disease, progression varies. These begin with short-term memory problems and time spent talking and daily tasks. Often, patients also suffer from depression and neuropsychiatric symptoms, including delusions or hallucinations.

According to the National Institute of Aging, these changes depart from parts of the brain responsible for memory, including the hippocampus, and continue toward the cerebral vortex, the part of the brain responsible for critical thinking and thinking. perception of information. Generally, symptoms appear for the first time in patients over 60 years old

Age is the leading risk factor for dementia and mortality rates badociated with the disease have more than doubled in the 85 to 89 age group, compared to the 90 to 94 age group. Given the high level of care required for these cases, it is not surprising that 60.4% of deaths from dementia occurred in long-term care facilities, hospices or nursing homes. retirement.

Patients and their families often feel isolated because of the disease, but with so many people affected, they do not need to feel that this information and help is not available.