Diagnosing and Treating Signs of Early Onset Dementia
Early onset dementia is a frightening diagnosis to receive. Typically, we expect illnesses related to cognitive decline to affect people in their seventies and beyond. Signs of early onset dementia, however, can appear from the age of 30 and older, but before the age of 65. This is typically more difficult to diagnose, as it is not the first condition that medical professionals suspect. While there is currently no cure for any type of dementia, it is possible to take steps to treat the symptoms. This can decrease the rate at which the condition advances and improve the patient’s quality of life. Signs of early onset dementia The symptoms of dementia vary according to the specific condition the person is suffering from. An individual can experience several signs of early onset dementia, or just one or two. For this reason, a medical diagnosis needs to happen. Professional assessments are conducted by specialist psychiatrists and test aspects related to a person’s memory, communication, focus, and reasoning. Short-term memory loss is of course one of the most obvious symptoms. While most people forget things from time to time, including details of a conversation, or the reason why they have walked into a particular room, if these occurrences become more frequent, they should be noted with concern. Dementia typically does not affect long-term memory as quickly, but it is the retention of day-to-day events that tend to “go missing” from one’s brain. Language and communication are other areas where signs of early-onset dementia present themselves. A person who is typically erudite can start to falter over common language expressions and jumbled words. For example, instead of asking whether they should cook dinner, they might ask whether the food is eaten, confusing the listener. They start to repeat themselves, unaware that they have [...]
