More than twice as many people in the UK have dementia before the age of 65

More than twice as many people in the UK have dementia before the age of 65

It’s not new news nor is it old news but statistically there are more than twice as many people in the UK who have dementia before the age of 65 than was previously thought.

But do they?

Has Dementia just become a term for giving a diagnosis, is it being diagnosed correctly?  What other ailments can cause Dementia like symptoms that are being misdiagnosed?

Some people actually have a treatable condition called ‘normal pressure hydrocephalus’ – according to Wikipedia “Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), also termed Hakim's syndrome and symptomatic hydrocephalus, is a type of brain malfunction caused by expansion of the lateral cerebral ventricles and distortion of the fibers in the corona radiata. Its typical symptoms are urinary incontinence, dementia, and gait disturbance”.

For other people, their misdiagnosis is the result of medications they are taking - for instance, many anti-anxiety drugs commonly prescribed to seniors such as Valium and Xanax, have side effects that are indistinguishable from Alzheimer’s or dementia, including:

·         Short-term memory loss

·         Disinhibition

·         Hallucinations

Or it could be Depression, severe depression can sometimes cause a syndrome of cognitive impairment known as pseudodementia. When the depression is treated, the cognitive impairment improves.

What about a urinary tract infection (UTI)? UTIs are caused by bacteria building up in the bladder, leading to infections. They’re often missed in older people because seniors rarely have the typical symptoms of a high fever or pain. Instead, there may be sudden memory problems, confusion, delirium, dizziness, agitation or even hallucinations. Please note that UTI-induced confusion is most likely to occur in people who already have dementia. Healthy people rarely have this reaction. 

Could it be a brain tumour? Someone showing signs of dementia may have a benign tumour called a meningioma, which can press on certain parts of the brain and cause cognitive dysfunction. 

In fact, any medicine that can cause cognitive impairment could lead to a misdiagnosis of dementia. Classes of drugs including anti-histamines, antibiotics, corticosteroids, anticonvulsants, antiemetics, muscle relaxants and opioid pain killers all carry this risk.