From: deputydawg23x@gmail.com   
      
   Mixed dementia is a condition in which abnormalities characteristic of more   
   than one type of dementia occur simultaneously. Physicians may also call mixed   
   dementia "Dementia - multifactorial."   
      
   About    
   Symptoms   
   Diagnosis    
      
   Causes & risks    
   Treatments    
      
   About mixed dementia   
      
   Take our interactive Brain Tour.   
      
   In the most common form of mixed dementia, the abnormal protein deposits   
   associated with Alzheimer's disease coexist with blood vessel problems linked   
   to vascular dementia. Alzheimer's brain changes also often coexist with Lewy   
   bodies. In some cases, a    
   person may have brain changes linked to all three conditions  -- Alzheimer's   
   disease, vascular dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies.   
      
   Researchers don't know exactly how many older adults currently diagnosed with   
   a specific type of dementia actually have mixed dementia, but autopsies show   
   that the condition may be significantly more common than previously realized.   
      
   Autopsy studies play a key role in shedding light on mixed dementia because   
   scientists can't yet measure most dementia-related brain changes in living   
   individuals. In the most informative studies, researchers correlate each   
   participant's cognitive health    
   and any diagnosed problems during life with analysis of the brain after death.   
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   and research.   
      
   Learn more: Vascular Dementia, Dementia with Lewy bodies, What Is Alzheimer's?   
      
   	   
   NIA-Funded Memory & Aging Project Reveals Mixed Dementia Common   
   Data from the first 141 volunteers in this research study show that more than   
   50 percent of those whose brains met pathological criteria for Alzheimer's had   
   pathologic evidence of one or more coexisting dementias.   
      
   This study is conducted by the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center and the Rush   
   Institute for Healthy Aging in Chicago and funded by the National Institute on   
   Aging (NIA).   
      
      
   Symptoms   
   Mixed dementia symptoms may vary, depending on the types of brain changes   
   involved and the brain regions affected. In many cases, symptoms may be   
   similar to or even indistinguishable from those of Alzheimer's or another type   
   of dementia. In other cases,    
   a person's symptoms may suggest that more than one type of dementia is present.   
      
   Learn more: Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease, Key Types of Dementia   
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   Diagnosis   
   A diagnosis of mixed dementia comes after a brain autopsy. Most individuals   
   whose autopsies show they had mixed dementia were diagnosed with one specific   
   type of dementia during life, most commonly with Alzheimer's disease. For   
   example, in the Memory and    
   Aging Project study involving long-term cognitive assessments followed by   
   eventual brain autopsy:   
      
   94 percent of participants who were diagnosed with dementia were diagnosed   
   with Alzheimer's.The autopsies of those diagnosed with Alzheimer's showed that   
   54 percent had coexisting pathology.   
      
   The most common coexisting abnormality was previously undetected blood clots   
   or other evidence of vascular disease.    
      
   Lewy bodies were the second most common coexisting abnormality.   
   Causes and risks   
   Although mixed dementia is infrequently diagnosed during life, many   
   researchers believe it deserves more attention because the combination of two   
   or more types of dementia-related brain changes may have a greater impact on   
   the brain than one type alone.    
   Evidence suggests that the presence of more than one type of dementia-related   
   change may increase the chances a person will develop symptoms.   
      
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   Help is available   
   If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or a related   
   dementia, you are not alone. The Alzheimer's Association is the trusted   
   resource for reliable information, education, referral and support to millions   
   of people affected by the    
   disease.   
      
   Call our 24/7 Helpline: 800.272.3900   
   Locate a chapter in your community   
   Join our online community   
   Use our Virtual Library   
      
      
   Treatment and outcomes   
   Because most people with mixed dementia are diagnosed with a single type of   
   dementia, physicians often base their prescribing decisions on the type of   
   dementia that's been diagnosed. No drugs are specifically approved by the U.S.   
   Food and Drug    
   Administration (FDA) to treat mixed dementia. Physicians who think that   
   Alzheimer's disease is among the conditions contributing to a person's   
   dementia may consider prescribing the drugs that are FDA-approved for   
   Alzheimer's.   
      
   Many researchers are convinced that growing understanding of mixed dementia,   
   coupled with recognition that vascular changes are the most common coexisting   
   brain change, may create an opportunity to reduce the number of people who   
   develop dementia.    
   Controlling overall risk factors for diseases of the heart and blood vessels   
   may also protect the brain from vascular changes.   
      
   Learn more: Heart-Head Connection, Can Alzheimer's Be Prevented?   
      
   TOP RESOURCES   
      
   	   
   Mixed Dementia (PDF)   
   Vascular Dementia (PDF)   
   Dementia with Lewy Bodies (PDF)   
   What Is Dementia?   
   Alzheimer's and Dementia Caregiver Center   
   Find a Clinical Trial   
      
      
      
      
   http://www.alz.org/dementia/mixed-dementia-symptoms.asp   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)