Dementia is not a stand-alone diagnosis. It can be caused by illness or disease. Most often dementia is the result of a degenerative brain disease, but stroke and infections may also be its cause.
Cerebrovascular disease may also be a cause of dementia as well as a contributing risk factor.
Parkinsonism is also frequently associated with dementia, and Dementia with Lewy bodies accounts for 15-20 per cent cases in hospital post-mortem series and is the second commonest cause of neurodegenerative dementia.
Frontotemporal dementia is less common than Alzheimer’s disease, dementia with Lewis bodies or vascular dementia overall but the second commonest form of primary neurodegenerative dementia in middle age, accounting for up to 20 per cent of presenile dementia cases.
Infections are a relatively infrequent but important cause of dementia. The most treatable cause is infectious meningitis. Viral encephalitis is a more acute syndrome that leaves dementia in its wake.
Occurrence of multiple cerebral infarctions can lead to a progressive disruption of brain function, leading to dementia.
The most typical form of multi-infarction dementia is characterized by an abrupt onset, acute exacerbations, step-wise clinical deterioration, fluctuating course, presence of hypertension or other significant cardiovascular disease and history do previous strike.
What causes of dementia?
