What Are the Causes of Senility?
An outdated belief was that old people simply became forgetful and lost their memory. They were subsequently referred to as senile or as having senile dementia. However, not all elderly people lose their memory or become disoriented or incapable of taking care of themselves. According to Rcpsych.ac.uk, what was formerly referred to as senile dementia was in fact Alzheimer's disease and those forgetful elderly individuals weren't victims of the aging process but actual victims of a very real and destructive disease. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia.
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Senility/Dementia
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Senility, according to Medterms.com, means old age as well as the physical decline that goes along with aging. The loss of mental acuteness that so often goes hand in hand with being old was once referred to as senility but now is called dementia. Two types of dementia are Alzheimer's disease and atherosclerosis. Healthline.com explains that senility/dementia is the loss of brain function, which happens when certain diseases are present. The most damaging of these diseases, which are degenerative and irreversible, are Alzheimer's disease and the aftermath of having a series of strokes, which is called vascular dementia. Healthline.com notes that MID (multi-infarct dementia) is the second leading cause of dementia in people aged 65 or older, with Alzheimer's being the leader. If a person has a series of strokes, often followed by a big stroke, vascular dementia may result.
Nerve or Blood Vessel Damage
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Anytime a medical condition is present that can do damage to the brain nerve structures or to blood vessels, dementia/senility can result. However, some forms of dementia can be treated if they are caused by low metabolic function, insufficient vitamin B12 levels, a brain tumor, a thyroid condition or hydrocephalus.
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Lewy Body Dementia
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According to the Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, dementia occurs when the brain cells in the cerebral cortex degenerate. This part of the brain is where your thoughts, actions, personality and memories occur and are stored. If there is a death of brain cells in this region, cognitive impairment will occur. A condition called Lewy Body Dementia (LBD), a neuro-degenerative disorder that afflicts older people, can cause cognitive impairment and behavior changes.
Other Culprits
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The Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine notes that dementia/senility can also be caused by long-term exposure to heavy metals (arsenic, antimony and bismuth) or by an infectious disease such as Lyme disease, syphilis, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, HIV and viral encephalitis. Hydrocephaly, which is a collection of spinal fluid on the brain, can cause senility, as can Pick's disease and a subdural hematoma.
Not Always Dementia
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Memory loss in and of itself does not mean an elderly person has senile dementia or Alzheimer's disease. A lot of factors can contribute to forgetfulness, according to Rcpsych.ac.uk, including deafness. You can't remember what you never heard; depression, temporary bouts of confusion, heart problems or chest infections.
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