[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by OBXNana

My mother was diagnosed with Dementia. We did an autopsy after her death and her brain indicated no signs of the disease.

She was diagnosed with Porphyria in 1957. Many diseases mimic other diseases.

You are correct that many diseases mimic others, however, if you look up Porphyria, those symptoms are nothing at all like the common Alzheimers. Porphyria is a very serious blood / cutaneous skin disease which attacks fiercely.


http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Porphyria Very long; please keep scrolling downward


http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/porphyria/basics/symptoms/CON-20028849


Dementia, though, can be a part of various illnesses. See below.
Definition of dementia
Dementia is a loss of mental ability severe enough to interfere with normal activities of daily living, lasting more than six months, not present since birth, and not associated with a loss or alteration of consciousness.

Dementia is a group of symptoms caused by gradual death of brain cells. The loss of cognitive abilities that occurs with dementia leads to impairments in memory, reasoning, planning, and behavior.

While the overwhelming number of people with dementia are elderly, dementia is not an inevitable part of aging; instead, dementia is caused by specific brain diseases.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause, followed by vascular or multi-infarct dementia.
Causes and symptoms
Dementia usually is caused by degeneration in the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for thoughts, memories, actions, and personality. Death of brain cells in this region leads to the cognitive impairment that characterizes dementia.

The most common cause of dementia is AD, accounting for one-half to three-fourths of all cases. The brain of a person with AD becomes clogged with two abnormal structures called neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques. Neurofibrillary tangles are twisted masses of protein fibers inside nerve cells (neurons). Senile plaques are composed of parts of neurons surrounding a group of proteins called beta-amyloid deposits.

Why these structures develop is unknown. Current research indicates possible roles for inflammation, blood flow restriction, and molecular fragments known as free radicals.
Several genes have been associated with higher incidences of AD, although the exact role of these genes still is unclear.

Discovered by researchers at Duke University in the early 1990s, potentially the most important genetic link to AD is on chromosome 19. A gene on this chromosome, called APOE (apolipoprotein E), codes for a protein involved in transporting lipids (fats) into neurons. Certain variations of this gene appear to increase the chance for developing AD and/or lower the age at which symptoms occur. Researchers believe that as many as seven other AD risk-factor genes exist.

In 2007, scientists identified a possible risk factor in four new AD-related regions in the human genome. In these regions, one out of several hundred genes may be a risk factor. One gene called SORL 1 has drawn particular research attention. This gene is involved regulating the transport of certain proteins in the cell. As of 2009, the role SORL 1 in the development of AD remained under study.

Vascular dementia is estimated to cause from 5-30% of all dementias. It occurs from decrease in blood flow to the brain, most commonly due to a series of small strokes (multi-infarct dementia). Other cerebrovascular causes include vasculitis from syphilis, Lyme disease, or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); subdural hematoma; and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Because of the usually sudden nature of its cause, the symptoms of vascular dementia tend to begin more abruptly than those of Alzheimer's dementia. Symptoms may progress stepwise with the occurrence of new strokes.

Unlike AD, the incidence of vascular dementia is lower after age 75.
Other conditions that may cause dementia include:

• AIDS
• Parkinson's disease
• Lewy body disease
• Pick's disease
• Huntington's disease
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
• brain tumor
• hydrocephalus
• head trauma
• multiple sclerosis
• prolonged abuse of alcohol or other drugs
• vitamin deficiency: thiamin, niacin, or B12
• hypothyroidism
• hypercalcemia
  Symptoms
  Dementia is marked by a gradual impoverishment of thought and other mental activities. Losses eventually affect virtually every aspect of mental life. The slow progression of dementia is in contrast with delirium, which involves some of the same symptoms, but has a very rapid onset and fluctuating course with alteration in the level of consciousness. However, delirium may occur with dementia, especially since the person with dementia is more susceptible to the delirium-inducing effects of may types of drugs.
  Symptoms of dementia include:
• Memory losses. Memory loss usually is the first symptom noticed. It may begin with misplacing valuables such as a wallet or car keys, then progress to forgetting appointments and then to more substantive omissions such as forgetting where the car was parked or the route home. More profound losses follow, such as forgetting the names and faces of family members.
• Impaired abstraction and planning. The person with dementia may lose the ability to perform familiar tasks, plan activities, and draw simple conclusions from facts.
• Language and comprehension disturbances. The person with dementia may be unable to understand instructions or follow the logic of moderately complex sentences. Later, the individual may not understand his or her own sentences and have difficulty forming thoughts into words.
• Poor judgment. The person with dementia may not recognize the consequences of his or her actions or be able to evaluate the appropriateness of behavior or level or risk. Behavior may become rude, overly friendly, or aggressive. Personal hygiene may be ignored.
• Impaired orientation ability. The person may not be able to identify the time of day, even from obvious visual clues, or may not recognize his or her location, even if familiar. This disability may stem partly from losses of memory and partly from impaired abstraction.
• Decreased attention and increased restlessness. This may cause the person with dementia to begin an activity and quickly lose interest and/or to wander frequently. Wandering may create significant safety problems when combined with disorientation and memory losses. For example, a person with dementia may begin to cook something on the stove, then become distracted and wander away while it is cooking.
• Behavioral changes and psychosis. The person with dementia may lose interest in once-pleasurable activities and become more passive, depressed, or anxious. Delusions, suspicion, paranoia, and hallucinations may occur later in the disease. Sleep disturbances may occur, including insomnia and sleep interruptions.
  Diagnosis
  Since dementia usually progresses slowly, diagnosing it in its early stages can be difficult. However, prompt intervention and treatment has been shown to help slow the effects of some dementias, so early diagnosis is important.
  Office visits over several months or more may be needed. Diagnosis begins with a thorough physical exam and complete medical history, usually including supplemental information from family members or caregivers. A family history of either AD or cerebrovascular disease may provide clues to the cause of symptoms. Simple tests of mental function, including word recall, object naming, and number-symbol matching, are used to track changes in the person's cognitive ability.
  
  Depression is common in the elderly and can be mistaken for dementia; therefore, ruling out depression is part of the diagnosis. Distinguishing dementia from the mild normal cognitive decline of advanced age also is critical. The medical history should include a complete listing of drugs and dosages and being taken, since a number of drugs can cause dementia-like symptoms in the elderly.
  
  Determining the cause of dementia may require a variety of medical tests, chosen to match the most likely etiology. Cerebrovascular disease, hydrocephalus, and tumors may be diagnosed with x rays, CT or MRI scans, and vascular imaging studies. Blood tests may reveal nutritional deficiencies or hormone imbalances.