What are Causes of Dementia?

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What are causes of dementia? There are several factors that can lead to it. As well we know that it is a group of symptoms or signs that caused by a certain condition or a certain disease like Alzheimer’s, and you have to completely understand that it is not a disease itself!

Dementia can lead to the loss of mental functions, including the loss performance to think, the poor function of memory, or the loss of reasoning skills -- which eventually will be severe to interfere with daily life. A group of symptoms of dementia also can include the changes in behavior, mood, or personality.

So what are factors that can lead to dementia? Generally, below are some of those causes!

1. A certain disease (like Alzheimer’s) that can lead to loss or degeneration of nerve cells in the brain. In many cases, Alzheimer’s is one of the most causes (almost 60-50 percent of all dementias). But there are some studies found 2 nervous diseases (both were incorrectly diagnosed before as Alzheimer’s), which may be the major cause of dementia.
2. Then longer term smaller injuries and single severe head injury also can higher the risk of developing dementia.
3. The poor performance of spinal cord & brain due to certain infections, like Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and AIDS dementia complex.
4. There is also some kind of hydrocephalus, which is a round-up of fluid in the brain that can induce developmental abnormalities, brain tumors, injuries, or infections.
5. A certain illness that can cause multi infarct dementia due to the bad performance of blood vessels. And stroke is one of the most diseases that can cause a disorder of blood vessels. Therefore, people with stroke are more likely also to have dementia at the same time.
6. High intake of improper use of drug, or even excessive alcohol intake can generate toxic reactions that eventually will increase the risk of dementia!
7. Low intake of a certain nutrient, such as folate or B12-vitamin deficiency!
8. Other diseases that don’t have a directly link to the brain, like lung disease, liver disease, or kidney disease may also can increase the risk of dementia!

Can dementia be cured?

You may also like to know about treatable and non-treatable dementia, before continuing!

There are some dementias that can be cured if the cause is treatable! Instances; dementias that are caused by illicit drugs & alcohol, disorder due to vitamin or hormone imbalances, or pseudo-dementia due to a severe depression (this is highly treatable)! But on the other hand, a true dementia is so difficult to be cured if the cause is not treatable.