Dementia

Dementia refers to a group of symptoms that are caused by changes in brain function. Signs of dementia include changes in memory, personality, and behavior. Dementia makes it hard for a person to carry out normal daily activities.

A person with dementia may ask the same questions repeatedly and get lost in familiar places. He or she may be unable to follow directions; be disoriented about time, people, and places; and neglect personal safety, hygiene, and nutrition.

Older people with dementia were once called senile, and it was thought that becoming senile was just part of getting old. But dementia is not a normal part of aging. It is important to find out the cause of a person's dementia. Some causes of dementia can be treated and reversed. Others are due to irreversible changes in the brain and cannot be cured.