Depressive cognitive disorders, also called pseudodementia (a term founded by Kiloh in the year 1961), is defined as the cognitive and functional impairment imitating neurodegenerative disorders caused secondary to neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Pseudodementia (fake dementia or fake cognitive decline) occurs when a person is so slowed down from depression or another psychiatric illness that they present as intellectually or cognitively impaired.
Pseudodementia is not permanent; once a person's depression is successfully treated, his or her cognitive symptoms will go away as well.
Pseudodementia symptoms can appear similar to dementia. Due to the similar side effects to dementia, this can result in a misdiagnosis of depression, or the adverse effects of medications being taken. This form of dementia is not the original form and does not result from the same cognitive changes.
Patients with pseudodementia are consistently found in clinical populations. One population-based study that recruited patients from primary care practices found depressive pseudodementia in 0.6% of people aged 65 years or older.
Depression. The symptoms of depression are often mistaken for dementia. It is not easy to define the symptoms because many people with dementia develop signs of depression, such as feelings of low self-esteem and confidence, tearfulness and appetite, concentration and memory problems.
A recent systematic review shows that around 35% of dementia is attributable to the combination of several modifiable risk factors, including cardiovascular risk factors, depression or educational attainment [10]. Anxiety has also been recognized as one of the potentially modifiable dementia risk factors [11].
The average life expectancy figures for the most common types of dementia are as follows: Alzheimer's disease – around eight to 10 years. Life expectancy is less if the person is diagnosed in their 80s or 90s. A few people with Alzheimer's live for longer, sometimes for 15 or even 20 years.
There is currently no cure for dementia, but lifestyle changes and treatment can help prevent or manage the symptoms.
Your memory often changes as you grow older. But memory loss that disrupts daily life is not a typical part of aging. It may be a symptom of dementia. Dementia is a slow decline in memory, thinking and reasoning skills.
What is often misdiagnosed as dementia? Dementia can be hard to spot and diagnose, because the symptoms of many other conditions can look very much like it. Other conditions include delirium, mental health conditions, hormone conditions and mild cognitive impairment.
Hyperventilation Hyperventilation occurs during anxiety attacks, and can lead to temporary issues that may feel like dementia. Hyperventilation reduces blood flow to the brain, which can lead to temporary problems focusing and using your memory.
Well, the chilling answer is YES. According to research, an unhealthy diet makes a senior like you vulnerable to the cognitive impairment brought by dementia. In fact, a well-established study about diet implicates sugar as the major culprit in increasing your risk to develop the disease.
One of the most common causes of death for people with dementia is pneumonia caused by an infection. A person in the later stages of dementia may have symptoms that suggest that they are close to death, but can sometimes live with these symptoms for many months.
The key things that affect life expectancy include: Age: Most people with dementia are elderly and may be affected by other illnesses and chronic conditions. The frail elderly are more vulnerable to falls, infections and other diseases which could, unfortunately, cause an earlier death.
Negative Thinking Can Harm Your Brain and Increase Your Dementia Risk. Researchers say repetitive negative thinking can increase your risk for developing dementia. They noted that in a recent study, participants who exhibited repetitive negative thinking had more cognitive decline and problems with memory.
Although data on antidepressant use in dementia is ambiguous, much of the current research suggests that antidepressants don't work well in people with dementia (unless they have a pre-existing mental health problem). This could be the result of changes to the brain that occur in dementia.
First, depressive symptoms often occur among patients with dementia. Second, depression may be a reaction to early cognitive deficits. Third, depression can impair cognitive function leading to a “pseudodementia” presentation. Finally, depression may be a risk factor or early symptom of dementia.
Some possible causes include: Autoimmune diseases (conditions that over-activate the immune system) Unusual presentations of more common neurodegenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer's disease) Prion diseases (rare forms of neurodegenerative disease)
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Repeat scans can show how a person's brain changes over time. Evidence of shrinkage may support a diagnosis of Alzheimer's or another neurodegenerative dementia but cannot indicate a specific diagnosis. MRI also provides a detailed picture of brain blood vessels.
The Mini-Cog test.
A third test, known as the Mini-Cog, takes 2 to 4 minutes to administer and involves asking patients to recall three words after drawing a picture of a clock. If a patient shows no difficulties recalling the words, it is inferred that he or she does not have dementia.