Dementia Diseases
More than 100 different diseases can lead to dementia. Some of the diseases are very rare, however. The diseases that can lead to dementia can be divided according to the disease type.
Progressive degenerative diseases
The most common dementia diseases are the progressive or so-called degenerative diseases. This group is the cause of approximately. 70 % of dementia cases. They are diseases that often involve the degeneration of a certain type of brain cells. Included in this group are:
Vascular dementia
The second most common group of diseases that may cause dementia are diseases in the blood vessels. For example, vascular dementia makes up approximately 20 % of dementia cases.
Vascular dementia is also called "stroke-related". The cause in most people is small blood clots in the blood vessels of the brain.
Vascular dementia may also be due to haemorrhaging in the brain or lack of oxygen as a result of cardiac arrest or near-drowning accidents, for example. Once the damage is done, the condition does not worsen, and it is almost always possible to improve during the months immediately following the damage.
Other diseases
The final 10 % of the causes of dementia consists of a large number of different diseases, that can be divided into some main groups.
- Cysts and normal pressure hydrocephalus.
There may be something putting pressure on the brain - either arachnoid cysts or cerebrospinal fluid. The latter is due to a disease where the cerebrospinal fluid cannot drain (normal pressure hydrocephalus).
Tumors in the brain, both benign and malignant.
- Infectious conditions.
- Rare metabolism diseases of various types.
- Brain damage.
Finally, traumatic brain damage, such as after a head injury, may cause dementia