| delirium, dementia, amnestic, cognitive disorders | Cognitive disorders including delirium, dementia, and other cognitive disorders. These may be the result of substance use, trauma, or other causes. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| dementia | <neurology, psychiatry> An organic mental disorder characterised by a general loss of intellectual abilities involving impairment of memory, judgment and abstract thinking as well as changes in personality. It does not include loss of intellectual functioning caused by clouding of consciousness (as in delirium) nor that caused by depression or other functional mental disorder (pseudodementia). Dementia may be caused by a large number of conditions, some reversible and some progressive, that cause widespread cerebral and damage or dysfunction. The most common cause is Alzheimer's disease, others are cerebrovascular disease (multi infarct dementia), central nervous system infection, brain trauma or tumours, pernicious anaemia, folic acid deficiency, Wernicke Korsakoff syndrome, normal pressure hydrocephalus, and, neurological diseases such as Huntington disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. Origin: L. Mens = mind (18 Nov 1997) |
| dementia, multi-infarct | Organic mental disorder caused by repetitive multiple cerebral infarcts which act cumulatively to produce dementia. Vascular disease is always presumed to be present. (12 Dec 1998) |
| dementia-nuchal dystonia | A disorder that is associated with nerve cell destruction and progressive lack of coordination, neck stiffness, trunk stiffness, problems with eye movement and mild dementia. Disorders that are similar include Alzheimer's disease, cerebellar dysfunction, Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease and Parkinson's disease. The cause for progressive supranuclear palsy is unknown, but is likely a degenerative nerve disorder that is somehow triggered by a viral infection. Pathologic changes include nerve cell damage and destruction of myelin sheath. There is no known cure. (27 Sep 1997) |
| dementia paralytica | Dementia and paralysis resulting from a chronic syphilitic meningoencephalitis. Synonym: dementia paralytica. (05 Mar 2000) |
| dementia paranoides | Dementia with paranoid features. Posttraumatic dementia, dementia caused by traumatic brain injury. Dementia praecox, any one of the group of psychotic disorders known as the schizophrenias; formerly used to describe schizophrenia as a single entity. Origin: L. Precocious (05 Mar 2000) |
| dementia, vascular | An organic mental disorder caused by systemic vascular disease such as arteriosclerotic changes in the vessels, valvular heart disease, hypertension, etc., and resulting in cerebral vascular disease with dementia. (12 Dec 1998) |
| dialysis dementia | A progressive (often fatal) diffuse encephalopathy which occurs in a few patients who undergo chronic haemodialysis, dementia is a key feature (27 Sep 1997) |
| transmissible dementia | <infectious disease> A very rare form of encephalopathy thought to be caused by a virus (slow-virus), termed a prion. There is little known about the mode of transmission. Human to human transmission has occurred through the use of contaminated brain electrodes and transplantation of infected tissues. The agent can be recovered in the CSF of infected individuals. Standard disinfectants such as formalin, heat, exposure to ultraviolet light or X-rays is ineffective to inactivate the virus. Autoclaving to at least 132 degrees C. Or immersion in 4% sodium hydroxide or 10% sodium hypochlorite solution for 1 hour is recommended for sterilisation. The disease occurs primarily in adults, with peak incidence in the late 50's. Infection results in dementia, myoclonus, ataxia and other neurologic symptoms. The disease progresses rapidly to coma and death after a 3 to 12 month illness. There is no known cure. (27 Sep 1997) |