Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom, and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about dementia.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com slash dementia.

Or in the psychiatry section of the zero to finals more

medicine book. And you can find questions to train your knowledge on this content and help

remember the information for longer at members.0 to finals.com. So let's jump straight in.

Dementia is a condition that causes progressive and irreversible impairment in memory, cognition, personality and communication. It's particularly

associated with older age. Early onset dementia refers to when the symptoms start before age 65.

Let's go through the types of dementia. Mild cognitive impairment involves a deficit in cognition and

memory that is greater than expected with age, but not significant

enough for a diagnosis of dementia. People with mild cognitive impairment can usually live

independently. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia. The underlying pathophysiology involves

brain atrophy, amyloid plaques, reduced colonergic activity, and neuroinflammation. Brain atrophy

means shrinking of the brain, amyloid plaques are deposits of amyloid proteins,

reduced colonergic activity refers to reduced activity of the acetylcholine neurotransmitter in the central nervous system,

and neuroinflammation refers to inflammation in the central nervous system, and neuroinflammation refers to inflammation in the central nervous system.

Vascular dementia is the second most common type of dementia.

It's caused by vascular damage and impaired blood supply to the brain.

Risk factors for vascular dementia are the same as other cardiovascular diseases,

for example, hypertension, diabetes and smoking.

Dementia with Louis Bodies is a type of dementia associated with features of Parkinsonism.

It causes a progressive cognitive decline.

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