The purpose of this this section is to explain the causes of three different types of dementia

The purpose of this this section is to explain the causes of three different types of dementia. According to Alzheimer’s Society (2017) the word ‘Dementia’ describes a set of symptoms that may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem solving or language. Nicola Matthews (2016) defines dementia as a progressive, degenerative disorder.The three types of dementia i am going to explain the causes of are Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).
Alzheimer’s Disease
Nicola Matthews (2016) suggests that Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common form of dementia. She then goes on to say that it is caused by a build-up of protein ‘plaques’ and ‘tangles’ in the brain, meaning that the nerve cells cannot pass on signals effectively. According to Medical News Today (2017) Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease, meaning there is progressive death of brain cells that happen over a period of time. Both these views are supported by the Alzheimer’s Society (2017) who say that during the course of the disease, proteins build up in the brain to form structures called ‘plaques’ and ‘tangles’. The Alzheimer’s Society then go on to say this leads to the loss of connections between nerve cells, and eventually to the death of nerve cells and loss of brain tissue.
Vascular dementia
The NHS (2017) claims that vascular dementia is caused by a reduced blood flow to the brain which damages the brain cells before killing them. They then go on to say that there are four different types of vascular dementia: subcortical vascular dementia, post-stroke dementia or single-infarct dementia, multi-infarct dementia and mixed dementia. The NHS have built upon this view where they say subcortical vascular dementia, also known as small vessel disease is caused by the narrowing of small blood vessels deep inside the brain. They then go on to say post-stroke dementia or single-infarct dementia is caused by the blood supply to part of the brain suddenly being cut of usually due to a blood clot, this is known as a stroke. According to the NHS (2017) multi-infarct dementia is caused by lots of mini strokes that cause tiny but widespread damage to the brain and mixed dementia is where people with vascular dementia also have brain damage caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
Dementia with lewy bodies (DLB)
Nicola Matthews (2016) proposed that dementia with lewy bodies is caused by lewy bodies (abnormal protein deposits) in the nerve cells of the brain. Nicola goes on to explain that although it is currently unknown why lewy bodies appear in the brain their appearance is often linked to low levels of dopamine and acetylcholine (chemicals that carry messages between nerve cells) as well as the progressive loss of connections between nerve cells, death of nerve cells and the death of brain tissue.