Dementia is not so much a disease by itself but rather a set of symptoms that are caused by something going wrong in the brain. Many different cognitive functions, or mental abilities, can be affected by dementia. People with dementia may have trouble remembering things. They may not recognize people or places that they have known all their lives. They may wander away from home and have no idea how to get back. They may be unable to express or understand language. They may lose the ability to plan or organize things. Dementia can cause personality changes, turning a normally happy, peaceful person into an angry, hostile one, unable to control her emotions. People with dementia may eventually lose the ability to care for themselves, even to the point of having to be bathed, dressed, and fed by someone else.

Dementia is most common in the elderly. For a long time  it was called “senile dementia” or “organic brain syndrome,”  and was considered to be a normal part of aging. People with  dementia were said to be senile, and very little was done to help  the person or his family to cope with its effects. Now doctors  and scientists understand that it is not at all a normal part of  growing old, that it can occur in any age group, that it is caused  by a number of medical conditions, and that there is much that can be done to help treat the symptoms and slow down their  progression. What all types of dementias have in common is  that they are all caused by problems in the brain.