WHAT IS
DEMENTIA?

• Syndrome of brain disorders
• Slowly ↓ memory &
reasoning
• Erodes independence
• Impairment in cognition that
impairs ability to function on
a daily basis

Rising Tide of Dementia

• 1 in 4 require assistance with ADLs
• 1 in 4 exhibit behaviors
• 1 in 4 experience symptoms of depression
• 1 in 4 hospitalized over 3 months
• 1 in 5 visit emergency over 3 month

• Results in great personal strain for
those with dementia & their
caregivers
• 55% Canadians with dementia live at
home
• Causes > disability than other diseases
• Severe financial burden for family &
caregivers ($10.4 billion out of pocket
expenses)
• Caregiver stress → ↓ health

Reducing the
Risk

• Diet
• Physical activity
• Assess & manage hearing loss
• Sleep
• Manage sleep apnea
• Avoid sleep deprivation
• Good sleep hygiene
• Increase or maintain
engagement in cognitively
stimulating exercises
• Social engagement
• Minimize exposure to
anticholinergic medications
• Annual influenza vaccination

MILD
COGNITIVE
IMPAIRMENT
or COGNITIVE
IMPAIRMENT
NOT
DEMENTIA

• ↓ cognition
• Usually memory
• Executive function
preserved
• Maintains ability
to carry out IADLs

Types of
Dementia

dementia=umbrella term for loss of memory and other thinking abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life

-alzheimers

-lewy body

-vascular

-frontal temporal

-others(parkinsons, huntingtons)

-mixed dementias

Pathobiology Hypotheses of dementia

-cholinergic hypothesis

-beta-amyloid hypothesis

-tau hypothesis

Additional Hypotheses
• Inflammatory
• Oxidative stress
• Serotonergic
• others

-cholinergic hypothesis

suggests that a dysfunction of acetylcholine containing neurons in the brain contributes substantially to the cognitive decline observed in those with advanced age and Alzheimer's disease (AD)

-beta-amyloid hypothesis

beta amyloids come together to form Plaques (waste prodt accumulation)
• Block neurotransmission
• Promote inflammation → neuron death
• Weaken blood vessels
• Initiates phosphorylation of tau proteins

tau -hypothesis

abnormal agregation of tau proteins which leads to formation of tangles with nerve cells in the brain, in a normal brain tau proteins help to lengthen and support microtubule structure-wic transport nutrients and information molecules throughout the nueron.