Dementia is not a specific disease; rather, dementia is a condition categorized by a group of symptoms. The most common forms of dementia are not reversible and make up nearly 95 percent of dementia cases. These include Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia and Lewy body dementia. Many other forms of the condition exist and may be reversible; however, these forms of dementia are rare. Dementia conditions are generally categorized as neurodegenerative disorders---involving the deterioration of nerve cells. Common symptoms include memory loss, inability to learn new information and personality changes. Though many symptoms involve a person's memory and orientation, a number of later-appearing symptoms affect a person physically.
Bowel and Bladder Function
A person in the later stages of dementia has uncontrolled bowel and bladder function. This should not be confused with a person who cannot remember how to use the restroom or simply cannot find the restroom---even in their own home. A person in late stages of dementia may not receive the nerve signals in the brain signaling the necessity to urinate or have a bowel movement.
Muscle Movement
A person will be unable to walk without ambulatory support, such as a walker, and continue to decline. Muscles become weak and rigid. Walking becomes difficult; a person may fall and cause additional injuries. Eventually a person will need assistance sitting up. At the very end stages of the condition, a person is unable to move muscles and is bed bound. A person will not be able to hold her head up. Losing the ability to smile is a physical symptom seen in late-stage dementia patients.
Impaired Swallowing and Weight Change
A person may not be able to chew or swallow food in the late stages of dementia. Swallowing difficulties can be caused by a person forgetting how to swallow, or the weakness of the muscles involved with swallowing, according to the book "Dementia: Your Questions Answered." However, swallowing problems may not be physical. Often a person's dentures may not fit, or he may be suffering from dental or gum disease causing pain in the mouth---the person will not be able to communicate chewing or swallowing difficulties. Physically, a person will lose weight because of the decreased appetite and inability to eat. Appetite is lost in most dementias; yet, a person diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia has an increase in appetite. A frontotemporal diagnosis will result in weight gain.
References
- The Mayo Clinic
- Dementia: your questions answered; Jeremy Brown, Jonathan Hillam; 2003.
- National Insitutes of Health
