Dementia
Alternate Names : Senility
What are the treatments for the condition?
Even when dementia is incurable, there are things that can be
done to treat the patient and help his or her family to cope. Medical care
is crucial, both for the patient and to answer questions family may have.
In the early and middle stages of Alzheimer disease, medicine
may help. The three medicines currently approved by the Food and
Drug Administration for treatment of Alzheimer disease are donepezil,
tacrine, and rivastigmine. These medicines are designed to improve
memory by increasing the amount of acetylcholine in the body.
Other medicines, such as risperidone or quetiapine, may
also be used to help behavioral problems such as hallucinations,
delusions, or agitation. Some people with dementia may also need
medicines for depression,
anxiety,
or insomnia.
Eating a healthy diet and practicing healthy lifestyle habits
can also help any person to maintain health status. In addition, the person's
caregivers should work to maintain a daily routine, help the person to be
as active as possible, and maintain social contacts. Memory aids such as
posting big calendars, making lists of daily plans, and hanging up written
directions for household tasks can help greatly.
Other treatments include support and education for those caring
for people with dementia. Individual and family counseling can help. Support
groups have also been found to assist caregivers. As the disease progresses,
many families are unable to provide home care for the person with dementia,
and placement in a special facility is needed.
What are the side effects of the treatments?
Medicines used to treat dementia can damage the liver,
so periodic liver function tests
are needed. Other side effects may include:
nausea
diarrhea
insomnia
vomiting
fatigue
muscle cramps
What happens after treatment for the condition?
In most cases, dementia is a progressive disease without a
cure. Treatment is lifelong. Because the course of dementia is hard to predict,
people with the condition should make plans for end-of-life care while
they are still able to think clearly.
Some of the challenges that family members
may face include:
promoting independence while making sure the person is safe
stopping the person from driving
finding supportive care among family, in an assisted living facility,
or in a nursing home
making business decisions
determining executors of written wills and making sure that advanced
directives are in the person's patient file at his or her doctor's office
How is the condition monitored?
A person with dementia needs to have regular visits to the doctor
for evaluation and treatment. From time to time,
liver function tests
may be ordered if the person is taking one of the medicines that can cause
liver damage. Any new or worsening symptoms should be reported to the doctor.
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