Dementia

What is Dementia 

Dementia is a collection of symptoms brought on by brain deterioration rather than a single illness.

Symptoms include:

• Memory loss
• Depression
• Confusion.

Types of dementia 

Alzheimer’s Dementia

Alzheimer’s is a degenerative brain disease in which there are damaged synaptic connections. This reduces the levels of important neurotransmitters within the brain and leads to symptoms that gradually worsen over time. The most common early symptom of Alzheimer’s is trouble remembering new information. This is because the disease typically impacts the part of the brain associated with learning first.

Vascular Dementia

Vascular dementia is caused by reduced blood supply to the brain due to diseased blood vessels.  The blood vessels either leak or become blocked so that oxygen and nutrients cannot reach the brain cells and they eventually die. This death of brain cells can cause problems with memory, thinking or reasoning. Vascular dementia can sometimes develop abruptly after an acute stroke or have a step wise deterioration due to smaller strokes.

Lewy Body Dementia

In Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) clumps of a protein called alpha-synuclein to aggregate in the brain’s nerve cells. DLB causes problems relating to both cognition and movement, particularly Parkinson’s symptoms such as tremor, stiffness and slowness of movements which can only really be identified by a Movement Disorders Specialist, especially when they are subtle. Lewy Body Dementia is the third most common cause of the condition, affecting approximately 1 in 5 people with dementia. However, it is commonly not diagnosed, or misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s Dementia.

Treatments

The is no current cure for the condition but an early diagnosis has many benefits:

• Allows a person to better understand what is happening to them.
• Early medical treatment can help slow the effects of the condition 
• Allows special support and measures to be put in place in a timely manner. 
• Gives family and friends more time to adjust and prepare for the future. 

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How to prevent dementia

• Exercise frequently.
• Reduce alcohol consumption.
• Give up smoking.
• Maintain a healthy blood pressure level. 

You can use your private medical insurance or pay for your Dementia treatment. We offer competitive, fixed price packages. If you are using your health insurance, please contact your insurer first for approval and let them know you’d like to be treated at One Hatfield Hospital.

Why One Hatfield

• Modern purpose-built hospital opened in December 2017
• Fast access to diagnostics including MRI, X-ray and Ultrasound
• Private, spacious, en-suite rooms
• Specialist physiotherapy and nursing teams
• Little or no waiting time
• ‘Ultra clean air’ theatres
• Freshly prepared food
• Calm, dignified experience

Contact us and find out more

If you are based in and around Hertfordshire, St Albans, Stevenage, Watford, North London, Welwyn or Bedfordshire and would like to visit the One Hatfield Hospital please click here.