Dementia

        Dementia is a clinical syndrome that includes loss of intellectual functions and memory were so heavy that causes dysfunction of daily life - days. Dementia is a condition when a person experiences memory loss and other thinking power which significantly interfere with activities of daily living. Meanwhile, according to Lumbantobing (1995) is a set of symptoms of dementia degeneration in intellectual functioning, usually marked disruption of at least three functions namely language, memory, visuospacial, and emotional.

       Grayson (2004) states that dementia is not just a common disease, but a collection of symptoms caused by some disease or condition resulting in changes in personality and behavior. Dementia is a disease that involves the brain cells that die abnormally. Only the terminology used to describe a progressive degenerative brain disease. Memory, thinking, behavior and emotion are damaged when geting dementia. This disease may be experienced by all people from different educational and cultural backgrounds. Although there is not any treatment for dementia, but treating the symptoms still allowed

Classification
a.  By Age:
1. Senile Dementia (> 65th)

2. Prasenile Dementia  (<65th)

b. According to the progress of disease:
1. reversible:
- Alcoholism
- Psychiatric disorders
- Normal pressure hydrocephalus
- Vascular Dementia
2. irreversible:
- Alzheimer's Dementia
- Pick's Disease
- Parkinson's Disease Dementia

c. According to the structure of the brain damage
1. Alzheimer's Type
2. Non-Alzheimer type
3. vascular dementia
4. Jisim Lewy dementia (Lewy body dementia)
5. Frontal-temporal lobe dementia
6. Related dementia (HIV-AIDS)
7. Morbus Parkinson
8. Morbus Huntington
9. Morbus Pick
10. Jakob-Creutzfeldt Morbus
11. Syndrome Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker
12. prion disease
13. Progressive supranuclear palsy
14. multiple sclerosis
15. neurosyphilis
16. Type of mix

d. According to clinical features:
1. dementia proprius
2. Pseudo-dementia


Common causes of dementia
Causes of dementia can be classified into 3 groups:

a. Dementia syndrome with a disease that essentially unknown etiology, 

often not found in this class of cerebral atrophy, abnormalities may be found at the subcellular or biochemical enzyme system, or the metabolism such as those found in Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia.

b. Dementia syndrome with known etiology, but have not been able to be treated,
The main causes in this group include:
1) Disease Spino-cerebellar degeneration.
2) Subacute leuko-encephalitis sclerotic van Bogaert
3) Khorea Huntington
4) Jacob-Creutzfeld disease etc.

c. Dementia syndrome with a treatable disease etiology, in this class include:
1) cerebro Cardiovascular Disease
2) metabolic diseases
3) Nutritional Disorders
4) Due to chronic intoxication
5) Hydrocephalus communicans
Dementia is such severe cognitive degeneration, that interfere with activities of daily living and social activities. Cognitive degeneration in dementia usually begins with memory or memory degenerate . Dementia mainly caused by Alzheimer's disease is closely related to age.


Criteria by degree of dementia
a. Mild: Despite heavy interference and activity in social work force , capacity for independent living permanently with personal hygiene enough and a good general assessment.
b. Medium: Living independently is required varying levels of harmful supportivity.
c. Severe: Activities of daily life affected, that does not continuum, incoherent