THIS IS UNIT 17 TASK 1, INCLUDING A AND B. DISTINCTION
Unit 17- LOA and LOB
In this assignment I will be explaining all types of dementia, symptoms and causes of the different
dementias. I be explaining how each dementia is different and how dementia isn’t just memory loss.
I will also be explaining the effects of dementia on different individuals and how it effects people in
different ways. I will be linking LOA and LOB to the case studies given. I will also be discussing how
dementia impact quality of life and how it affects the wellbeing of these individuals.
LOA- Types, causes and symptoms of dementia: A1 and A2
There are many types of dementia such as:
Alzheimer’s disease- This is the most common dementia where it is caused by build up of protein
‘plaques’ and ‘tangles’ in the brain. This means the nerve cells cannot give signals which affects the
individual brain activity and affect their mobility. The brain contains chemicals that send signals to
the rest of the body, individuals with Alzheimer’s have less of these signals. Alzheimer is a
progressive disease which gets worse over time where their brain will get more damaged over time.
Symptoms of Alzheimer’s include memory loss, difficulties with thinking, problem solving or
language (Alzheimer Society/ n.d). Alzheimer disease cause is not fully understood but these can
increase the risk of Alzheimer; increasing age, family history of the condition, untreated depression
or lifestyle factor associated with heart disease. More symptoms of Alzheimer disease are
hallucinations, problems with mobility, personality changes or low mood/anxiety. Anyone can be
affected by Alzheimer’s, but it is most common people over the age of 65 (NHS- Alzheimer’s 2021).
The earliest symptom of Alzheimer is memory loss however this is different to everyone, some
individuals may remember their childhood but not remember someone name. people with
Alzheimer may seem very distressed as they are confused on who you are or where they are when
caring for them you will need to calm them down. They may act out meaning they can become
aggressive as they are confused on where they are, this can be challenging for people caring for
them or loves ones. As the brain cannot send signals, they may not realise they need the toilet. This
is a private matter when people caring for them should remain privacy and dignity for the individual.
More symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are withdrawn from interests or activities and lost in familiar
places. An example of Alzheimer disease is Anjeela Johal which is case study 2, where her symptoms
are mood swings and hard to manage behaviour. She also has symptoms of confusion and where she
forgets where she is.
Vascular dementia- This is the second most common type of dementia. Vascular dementia occurs
when the blood supply to the brain is reduced, this is due to blood vessels being clogged or a stroke.
With the blood vessels clogged this is reduce the blood to the brain meaning blood cells will stop
working overtime. Vascular dementia can be caused by a stroke, as when you have a stroke your
blood supply to your brain is cut off meaning your brain cells are killed. This can cause problems with
memory and thinking. Vascular dementia and stroke are very similar as they both cause problems
with memory, thinking and mood. The difference is stroke happens very quickly where the vascular
dementia worsen overtime. This type of dementia can also be caused by small vessel disease, this is
where small blood vessels in your brain narrows and become clogged up. This reduces the amount
of blood going into your brain causing problems with memory (Stroke Association/ n.d). The
symptoms of vascular dementia are memory loss, forgetfulness, difficulties staying focus, problems
with decision making, processing information become slower, and concentration become poor. As
the vascular dementia worsen the symptoms will be different such as being confused, behaving
,differently, lacking motivation, not being able to control your emotion and finding it difficult to walk.
However, depending on the cause of vascular dementia the symptoms will vary. Such as a stroke, the
individual may need physical support as they have lost most of their mobility, for example they may
have difficulties in swallowing. The cause of vascular dementia is blocked up blood vessels this can
be caused by lifestyle choices such as smoking or heavy drinking. Atherosclerosis is a disease is the
arteries in which fatty substances build up in the inner walls and making them narrow and hardening
the arteries. This means the blood cannot get to the brain causing vascular disease. Another way of
cause of vascular dementia is transient ischaemic attack which is a brain clot which can cause
confusion or lack of coordination. More symptoms of vascular disease are laughing or crying
inappropriately, night tremors or difficulties with familiar tasks such as cooking. An example for
vascular dementia is one of the case study Raymond Boston, his symptoms include confusion about
money, and he is accusing nurses to being robbers. His main symptoms are confusion and he
struggle to do tasks such as handling money.
Dementia with Lewy bodies- This type of dementia is like Parkinson disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
This is caused by abnormal protein deposits (Lewy bodies) in the nerve cells of the brain. Dementia
with Lewy bodies are 10-15% of all cases of dementia as this type is uncommon. Dementia with Lewy
bodies is caused by tiny deposits of protein that appear in nerve cells in the brain. However,
researchers do not have fully understanding of Lewy bodies and don’t understand how they appear.
Lewy bodies may appear because of low levels of chemicals that carry messages between nerve cells
or loss of connection between nerve cells. Lewy bodies are linked to mobility problems and the
outer Lewy bodies are linked with mental abilities (Alzheimer’s Society/ n.d). The symptoms of
dementia with Lewy bodies are hallucinations, delusions, abnormal sleeping pattern, and
visuospatial impairment. Lewy bodies can cause mental problems such as reducing thinking speed,
understanding, judgement or language. Other symptoms may be seeing or hearing things that aren’t
there, slow movement, fainting or falls (NHS December 2019). Dementia with Lewy bodies is related
to Parkinson as Lewy bodies can cause damage leading to Parkinson disease which start movement
problems (Alzheimer research UK, n.d). Symptoms of Dementia with Lewy Bodies often start with
difficulty with moving, within a year individuals may have problems with thinking or memory. These
symptoms are similar with Alzheimer disease. There are 7 stages of symptoms for Dementia with
Lewy Bodies. Stage one symptoms are hallucinations, daytime sleeping or mood fluctuations. Stage
two symptoms are mild forgetfulness. Stage three symptoms are memory loss, forgetfulness,
concentration problems or increased risks of falls. Stage four symptoms are difficulty in swallowing,
speaking or high risks of falls, health problems. Stage five symptoms are significant memory loss,
confusion or cannot perform daily tasks. Stage sixth symptoms are urine or bowels problems, lose
ability to speak and worsened memory. The last stage is communication is limited and individuals
are unable to walk and have lack of movement (Medicine Net, Kumar 2020).
Frontotemporal Dementia- This is one of the less common type of dementia which is also known as
Picks disease or frontal lobe dementia. This type of dementia refers to the lobes of the brain. The
lobes are located behind the forehead, the right lobe is responsible for behaviour and emotions and
left is for language. This is caused by the build up of proteins in the brain where it can be genetic or
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease which affects the memory and thinking. This type of dementia the nerve
connections are lost where connections are not made, and the frontal lobe shrinks. Symptoms of
frontotemporal dementia is personality/ behaviour changes, language problems, problems with
mental abilities and memory problems. Frontotemporal dementia can be caused by conditions such
as HIV, AIDS, alcohol abuse, head injury or downs syndrome. An individual may make inappropriate
comments about others, rash decisions or act differently because of the dementia. As like the rest of
the dementia the symptoms get worse over time, this means the individual may lose independence
, and need caring for (NHS January 2020). In case study 3, Dr Isobel Blake has frontotemporal lobe
dementia, her symptoms include difficulty in organisation and doing daily tasks such as dressing. She
has difficulty in swallowing which is a common symptom for dementia which is developed over time
with dementia.
Other common symptoms of dementia include confusion, forgetfulness, behaviour changes, mood
swings or loss of control over body. Many of these types of dementia will experience the same
symptoms but will be diagnosis by a professional on which dementia they have.
A.M1 Analyse how the different types of dementia might be identified by their symptoms.
Dementia can be identified by their symptoms. Alzheimer dementia first symptoms can be minor
memory loss such as forgetting places or names. This is caused by a build-up of proteins (amyloid) in
the brain. Many people in the early stages of Alzheimer dementia notice their thinking or memory
reduced, however some of these signs can be stress, depression or other illnesses. To know if you
have Alzheimer dementia, you may develop symptoms such as finding it hard to concentrate, leave
objects in unusual places, problems with thinking or reasoning, often confused or feeling anxious or
depressed. These symptoms are the signs of Alzheimer dementia, many people may comment on
the individual’s difficulty in thinking or memory. Some individuals may not realise they have
dementia, but others can identify their symptoms. If an individual is concerned about their
symptoms, they would go to the GP and they would do an assessment on if you have dementia
(Alzheimer’s Society, n.d). Alzheimer is the most common dementia and most dementia include
memory loss so when identifying dementia some may be confused. Alzheimer may be identified by
the symptoms worsen such as losing more memory. They will be assessed on her memory, thinking
and other mental abilities. Individuals with Alzheimer are prone to getting lost even in areas they are
similar with; this is related to memory loss and is a common sign for Alzheimer’s. individuals with
Alzheimer have different symptoms however the most common symptom is memory loss. Vascular
dementia symptoms are like Alzheimer such as memory loss, forgetfulness. The early signs of
vascular dementia are losing the ability to focus, concentration or processing information becomes
slower. Other people may notice the symptoms of an individual with vascular dementia, such as they
may notice mood swings or visuospatial impairment. As vascular dementia can come from strokes,
their symptoms can vary, and the symptoms can be different to Alzheimer as Alzheimer are more
steady and progressive symptoms. We may identify vascular dementia by the individual acting out of
character. Dementia with Lewy bodies symptoms are problems with maintaining attention and
staying alerted. You can notice dementia with Lewy bodies as their attention is reduced and issues
around judging distances. Individuals can suffer from hallucinations and delusions; we can identify
Lewy bodies dementia by the individual acting out of character and having trouble sleeping or
hallucinating. Frontotemporal dementia symptoms can be lack of inhibitions which makes acting
impulsively or making rash decisions or inappropriate comments. Some may lose empathy or
interest in people around them. People around these individuals may notice them acting cold or
mean which could be out of character for these individuals. They may have common dementia
symptoms like memory loss however with frontotemporal dementia individuals may out in a harsh
way. Overall, dementia symptoms are individuals acting out of character like memory loss or mood
swings.
LOB- The effects of dementia
B1- Effects of dementia on mental and physical health
Reasoning and communication