Dementia, a termed used to describe a group of symptoms caused by varying brain disorders, is characterized by the loss of intellectual and emotional function. Dementia-related brain disorders are located either in the outer cortical surface of the brain, or within subcortical regions. Dementia caused by a cortical disorder is termed cortical dementia and includes diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Alzheimer’s disease and Pick’s disease. Varying degrees of dementia strike approximately 5 percent to 15 percent of the population older than 65, according to the University of Cincinnati and Medline Plus.
Types
Cortical dementia is caused by a variety of cortical disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Pick’s disease, or frontotemporal dementia, according to Dartmouth University. Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the slow destruction of nerve cells in the brain. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a very rare, progressive, degenerative disease; Pick’s disease slowly shrinks the size of the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, according to Dartmouth University.
Causes
The exact cause of cortical dementia, in response to each brain disorder, is not known. For example, the underlying cause of nerve cell destruction in the cortical region of the brain, which leads to Alzheimer’s disease, is unknown. However, genetic factors and environmental factors such as head trauma and lower education level are being considered, according to The University of Maryland Medical Center. The cause of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is unknown. Some researchers suspect a virus, prion proteins or genetic factors, according to The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The cause of Pick’s disease, or frontotemporal dementia, is unknown; however, an excessive amount of a protein called tau is found in the brain cells of Pick’s disease patients, according to Medline Plus.
Symptoms
Symptoms include difficulties with memory, planning, familiar tasks, speech, judgment and changes in mood and personality. Symptoms present slowly in Alzheimer’s disease, as opposed to rapidly in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Symptoms for Pick’s disease may also include decreased social tact, or empathy and increased sexual interest, or severe difficulty with speech, according to the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Treatment
There are no treatments to stop the progression of dementia. Treatments include only those to make the patient more comfortable and safe, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Prognosis
Progressive dementia primarily leads to nursing home care. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, however, is a rapid degeneration of the brain tissue and is ultimately fatal, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
