Multi-infarct dementia, a type of vascular dementia, is the second most common cause of dementia, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), It affects people between the ages of 55 and 75. Caused by strokes, multi-infarct dementia affects multiple parts of the brain. A brain scan, such as a CT scan or MRI, detects the exact areas of damage. The stroke prevents blood from reaching these parts of the brain, resulting in damage to the brain tissue.
Cognitive Changes
Multi-infarct dementia can affect a patient's cognitive abilities. For example, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) states that patients have problems with short-term memory, which impairs their ability to remember recent events. Patients may also have confusion, in which they feel disoriented and cannot think clearly. The NIH notes that the confusion is worse at night. Patients may also have aphasia, in which they have problems forming or understanding language. Multi-infarct dementia also impairs patients' judgment. They may also have delusions, or false beliefs. Hallucinations can also occur, in which patients hear or see things that do not exist. These changes in cognitive function become worse as the disease progresses.
Emotional Symptoms
This type of dementia also affects patients' moods. For example, the NIH states that patients can develop depression, anxiety, tension and frustration from the brain function loss. Patients may also have a lack of emotion. Multi-infarct dementia also affects a patient's personality. Other symptoms include inappropriate emotional display, such as laughing during a sad occasion, agitation and social withdrawal.
Motor Problems
Patients can have problems walking, moving with shuffling steps, according to the NINDS. Multi-infarct dementia also causes numbness and tingling, which can also affect movement. For example, if a patient's leg is numb, he can have problems walking. Other motor problems include urinary incontinence and problems swallowing. The NIH adds that as the dementia worsens, the patient loses his ability to take care of himself.
