Dementia is a broad term that covers 70-80 different diseases. All types of dementia have common characteristics, but they have different causes and, more importantly, different treatments and prognoses.
Dementia is an organic form of brain disease; it affects the structure of the brain. Dementia is neurological, not psychological.
The common characteristics of the different types of dementia are changes in memory, personality or behavior. In other words, people with dementia become forgetful, they have personality changes and they act in ways that are not normal for them. Although it is more common in elderly people, dementia is not a normal function of aging.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. The cause or causes of Alzheimer's is not yet known, but we do know now that the dementia of Alzheimer's occurs because brain cells are replaced by amyloid plaques and neurofibrillatory tangles.
Some of the other forms of dementia include:
- Anoxic dementia (caused by prolonged lack of oxygen to the brain)
- Traumatic dementia (caused by multiple brain impacts, as occurs with boxers)
- Alcoholic dementia
- Multi-infarct dementia (caused by many small strokes in diffuse areas of the brain)
- Creutzfeld-Jakob disease
- Parkinson's disease (in late stages)
- Huntington's disease
- Pick's disease
- Binwanger's disease
- Vascular dementia
- Dementia of AIDS
Vitamin B12 is necessary to maintain normal structure of nerves, and it may be responsible for neurotransmitter function. There is some evidence that vitamin B12 supplements may improve symptoms in people with several types of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.
Vascular dementia is associated with high levels of homocystiene, an inflammatory substance that is also associated with heart attacks. Vitamin B12 helps convert homocystiene to other substances that can be excreted. Elevated homocystiene levels are frequently associated with low vitamin B12 levels.
Many older people can benefit from taking vitamin B12 supplements. Our ability to absorb vitamin B12 decreases as we age, but our need for it does not. The symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency are nearly identical to the symptoms of dementia. If an older person begins to exhibit symptoms of dementia, taking vitamin B12 supplements may clear the symptoms up completely. Whether the symptoms are due to vitamin B12 deficiency or to dementia, vitamin B12 often helps.
One of the reasons elderly people develop vitamin B12 deficiency is that they lose their ability to absorb vitamin B12 through their digestive systems. Oral supplements don't always correct the deficiency. The B12 patch is an easy, painless, safe way for elderly people to get the vitamin B12they need to prevent or treat symptoms of dementia.
