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Essay on Ncfe Principles of Dementia Care Level 2

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Assessment 1.1: understanding dementia 1. Explain what is meant by the term ‘dementia’. Dementia is a term used to describe a collection of signs and symptoms that happen to the brain when it is affected by the progression of certain diseases such as vascular dementia (when brain cells die due to lack of oxygen) and Alzheimer’s disease (a specific brain disease). Some of the affects these diseases have are on a person’s memory, language and communication abilities, behaviour and ability to make rational judgements. 2. The estimated total number of people diagnosed with dementia in the uk is 820,000 3.1 The estimated worldwide number of people with dementia is 35 million 3.2 In terms of ratio the prevalence of …show more content…

c) Cerebellum – when an individual is affected with dementia in this lobe they will have problems with their balance and co-ordination. This can lead to them having more falls than they previously had. 6. Why each of these following conditions could be mistaken for dementia a) Depression- individuals with severe depression suffer with poor memories and lack concentration. They will also become less motivated and become withdraw. These are all signs of dementia. A general practitioner may think that it is more likely that an elderly person is suffering from dementia than depression. b) Delirium – this illness comes on quickly and advances rapidly. It is caused by infections, dehydration, and thyroid dysfunction and can be a side effect from certain drugs. Once the individual is receiving treatment they will be on their way to returning to their normal state. The symptoms are similar to dementia as it can cause memory loss, disorientation, language disturbances and hallucinations. c) Age-related cognitive impairment (or mild cognitive impairment MCI) – is when an elderly person’s memory starts to wane and they have problems recalling their short term memories, they have difficulty learning new things, their thinking process starts to become reduced and have difficulty concentrating. It is thought that MCI can develop due to alcohol abuse and cognitive decline (poor diet, chronic inflammation, vascular disease and

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