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As we get older, many of us notice our brain is not as agile and our memory not as sharp as it used to be.
It is quite a common observation but it can make us wonder if these memory problems could be an early sign of dementia.
Here we look at what is known about dementia, symptoms that could suggest you should seek further advice, steps to reaching a diagnosis, and where you or your family can go for more specialist information about treatment and support.
Dementia is predominantly a condition that affects older people. But of the approximately 700,000 people in UK with dementia, there are around 15,000 people who are under 65.
If it is diagnosed early enough there are lots of things that can be done to help you overcome problems and improve the quality of your life.
Dementia is a progressive disorder that affects how your brain works and in particular the ability to remember, think and reason.
It is not a disease in itself - but a group of symptoms that may accompany conditions that affect your brain. The most common of these is Alzheimer’s disease. Another is vascular dementia which can develop following a stroke or if there is blood vessel damage that interrupts the supply blood to your brain. Dementia is not a normal consequence of growing old.
There does not appear to be a single cause of dementia. Research to date suggests a combination of factors affect your overall risk of developing it. You cannot do anything about factors such as your age or genetics but you can make changes to your lifestyle.Age – this is the most significant risk factor and chances of developing dementia increase with age.
Genetics – this seems to be more significant if you develop dementia under the age of 65. In the majority of cases the significance of inheritance seems small. If a parent or other relative develops it, your own chances are only a little higher than if there were no cases in your family.
Lifestyle - people who follow a healthy lifestyle that protects their heart and blood vessels and who enjoy active and fulfilling lives have been shown to have a lower risk of dementia. Therefore aim to:
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A download is a document (like a research report, a leaflet, or an application form) that can be transferred from our website to your computer. You can download a file, view it on your screen, print it, or save it to your computer.
PDF stands for ‘portable document format’.
Most downloads on this website are PDFs. We use this format to ensure that the document looks the same on everyone’s computer (website pages, by contrast, appear differently depending on how people have got their computer set up).
Computers use a program called Adobe Acrobat Reader to download PDFs. If you try clicking on a link to download a PDF and it doesn’t work, you will need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader onto your computer.
The process is quite straightforward and is free.
PDFs cannot be changed. If you need to be able to type into a downloaded document (for example, if we are offering a letter template that you need to put your name on) we will provide it as a Microsoft Word document rather than a PDF. You can then download it, type into it and save it to your computer.
Downloads will open on your computer in a new browser window.
Inside this window (below all your web browser menus), there will be a toolbar with options for you to print or save the document.
Close the browser window to return to the Age UK website.
We have made every effort to make our PDFs accessible to screen readers. Here is an overview of your accessibility options available in Acrobat Reader. Please ensure that you have downloaded the latest version of Acrobat Reader from the Adobe Reader website to ensure that they are included in your version of the programme.You can use Adobe Reader to read a PDF out loud with the following shortcut keys:
You can also convert a PDF into a web page by following these steps:
You can convert a PDF document into a text file for use with other software and hardware such as Braille printers by opening the PDF and choosing ‘Save as text’ from the File menu.
Share your first hand accounts of issues or problems that older people are experiencing in relation to public services.
Dementia Services Development Centre
Alzheimer's Society
Public Health Agency
Older People's Advocate
MS Society NI
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