More About Dimentia

My first column Senior Moments has expanded somewhat. This is the 133rd commentary which frankly amazes me (not all are posted). I never dreamt there were so many senior moments. Ah yes, some may be a bit contrived. How many I have overlooked may be even more surprising. But please, don’t confuse senior moments with dementia. They are two quite different species.

Let me share what some of the experts have to say about dementia which translates into insanity, hardening of the arteries, Alzheimer’s Disease, madness, craziness, mania, lunacy and another, senile dementia (dementia of the aged, a degeneration of the brain). How about this definition of dementia: deterioration of intellectual faculties, such as memory, concentration, and judgment, resulting from an organic disease or a disorder of the brain. It is sometimes accompanied by emotional disturbance and personality changes . . . Say what you will, a typical senior moment is much less than dementia.

Dementia is not a very pleasant thought. If we live long enough, most of us will have some degree of memory loss and a lesser undetermined number will suffer from a more severe form of dementia. Meanwhile, there are a few things we can do about it.

Why should seniors be concerned? For one reason we’re living longer. The average length of life a century ago was roughly 47 years. Today it’s creeping into the upper 70’s. We’re told that about 10% of those over 65 and 20% over 75 years will be affected to some degree with dementia. This may include some of those pesky senior moments of which many or most are hardly demented moments.

Why is there dementia? It is usually due to a progressive intellectual impairment. So, the longer we live the greater the chance of a diminished intellect. Of course we knew that all along, right? Scientifically, those with impairment before 65 are presenile and senile after 65. But that’s a word we don’t like either: senility. We’d rather call it a senior moment.

Causes of mental impairment are often easier to treat when we’re younger: like head injuries, pernicious anemia, encephalitis, brain tumors and alcoholism. But such reversible ailments only account for possibly 10% of dementias. More prevalent is cerebrovascular disease (including strokes), hypertension, heart disease and gradual loss of brain cells (as in Alzheimer’s disease).

Then what happens? More moments like getting lost in familiar surroundings, confusion of various kinds, inability to catch on to rather ordinary events, attempts to try to cover up these problems (confabulation). Many of these symptoms come on gradually and may not be noticed at first: unusual behavior, failure in judgment, unpleasant personality changes, paranoia, depression, anxiety, irritability and possibly ultimately the inability to function.

Is there any hope? Of course. Our culture is making serious efforts to find not only cures (which sometimes may not be possible) but also includes attempts at lessening symptoms and providing alternate living arrangements. As they say, growing old isn’t for sissies. If your senior moment is living in dread of eventual dementia, there’s hope. None of us really know who will be afflicted to the point of disability. Keep your mind active. Live it up. And while you’re at it, live at peace with everyone. It may come in handy someday.