A dentist told me that poor dental hygiene affects one's heart and brain since oral bacteria get into the bloodstream. My 91-yr-old Dad bragged for decades that he only went for a dental cleaning every 5 years! Now it's catching up to him with a calcified heart valve replacement, four tooth extractions, and worsening vascular dementia. This makes more work for us as his caregivers since we now have to take him for cleanings every 4 months and brush his teeth after every meal. The part that gets me is that this is perfectly PREVENTABLE. My Dad's Dad had dementia and poor dental hygiene, too. When my Mom asked her high school friend whose husband has 2 types of dementia and had a pacemaker implanted after another severe heart attack whether he had bad dental hygiene, she replied "oh, yes!". Why is it that men, who like to be in control of their circumstances, won't do such a simple thing they have control over? Always Mr. Fixit, Dad kept all our cars running, but neglected his own health... Science supports this: https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/large-study-links-gum-disease-dementia
That's not true at all. My mother had dental care her whole life and vascular dementia hit her at about 88 years old after having Afib and TIAs.
She never drank, took drugs, smoked, only cooked food from scratch, maintained a healthy weight, exercised daily by walking, took Tylenol rarely, never had allergies or used any meds on the suspect list.
Same with her sister who died at 97 after suffering from Alz for 20 yrs.
My father had horrible teeth and consequently, breath that would knock a buzzard off a chit wagon. He lived till 91 with no sign of cognitive decline of any kind.
And how about the folks who have lost all their teeth and wear dentures who develop dementia later on in life??
If medical science KNEW what caused dementia, it could be cured and/or prevented which it cannot.
I had 2 Aunts that helped raise me from 0 to 20, along with my Mom. They were 3 years apart in age. Neither married or had kids. They lived together their whole lives. They even worked in the same company and retired 2 years apart. They ate the same diet, had the same friends, same habits (no bad habits). Went on the same vacations, etc. Closer than most twins since they lived together for 100 years.
One Aunt developed dementia in her mid 80s and passed away at almost 101. Her sister is 90% still cognitively intact and is living in their home at 105 yrs. old. This Aunt doesn't take vitamins (but eats a Mediterranean diet) and never exercised other than gardening and house cleaning.
People think they can control dementia but really all they can do is live well/healthy so that they don't bring it on earlier. If you're going to get it, it cannot be prevented or reversed. I know plenty of bright, healthy people who developed dementia (part of the problem is we are living so long that it is inevitable). I know an amazing woman who got ALZ at 58.
IMO people should live as well as they can, with as little stress as possible. Get exercise, have a rich social and spiritual life, keep your mind challenged. But none of this is a guarantee.
My own theory is in time everyone gets dementia. The brain ages just like any other part of an old person's body and it stops working properly. I think there are very few people in their 90s that don't have it. My parents both now have mild cases, they are 95.
We are living longer so dementia has become more common than it was years ago.
Trauma to the brain. (concussions over the course of your life) Chemicals Stroke Drugs Dementia resulting from other medical conditions Parkinson's for example. Different types of Dementia so there are different causes. To say "the environment" as the sole cause is limiting.
I have My Own theories , heavy Metals , Pharmaceuticals , Processed foods , meat , hormones , sugar , Inflammation , stuff They spray In the air for the ozone Hole . Stress , Lack Of Community , Lack Of a family support system .
I agree with everything you said. Regarding "lack of community & lack of a family support system," I believe this is crucial. To this I'd tack on our "transportation system" or "ease of travel," or something like that. When I grew up as a kid, in the 50s, my grandfather became senile, it seems. He had 7 kids, and only 1 moved out of state. The rest stayed in the same area (a large metropolis in the Midwest). When his wife/grandma died, he just "moved around" to stay with each of his kids for a few months. He never complained, neither did any of his kids. Some were more well off than others & he had his own room. In my house we had 7 kids, 3 bedrooms, one of which was rented out to a boarder, and all he got was a corner area in the basement with a cot. Nowadays, everyone is "mobile," moving all around for jobs, careers, etc. The demise of the family here plays a big role in what has happened to our aged population.
That is the million dollar question, now isn't it? If we knew for certain what the causes are for the hundreds of different dementias that exist, there would already be at least a few possible cures out there. But sadly all we have are a few medications that at best only slow the progression. And I personally don't see the purpose of delaying the progression of such a horrific disease, when they all will end in death from either the dementia itself or complications from it.
I think once we know causes we will know more about treatments. That's usually how we work. We do know more and we have ever more conjecture about why. Some dementias like Alzheimer's do seem to run in families where others like Lewy's do so. In some dementia it is damage to vessels in the brain from plaques much like cardiac damage. They hope we will see less with people controlling cholesterol. But so far we are on the cutting edge.
Of interest is that when I started my nursing career in the 70s there was pretty much only that word "senility" and now we can tell there are many KINDS of dementia.
Do go online and explore. It's a fascinating subject and if you read Oliver Sacks at all you will see one can spend a lifetime of study on the brain and never begin to get much more than a glimmer of the truths waiting to be found.
Science supports this:
https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/large-study-links-gum-disease-dementia
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/tooth-loss-associated-with-cognitive-impairment-dementia
She never drank, took drugs, smoked, only cooked food from scratch, maintained a healthy weight, exercised daily by walking, took Tylenol rarely, never had allergies or used any meds on the suspect list.
Same with her sister who died at 97 after suffering from Alz for 20 yrs.
My father had horrible teeth and consequently, breath that would knock a buzzard off a chit wagon. He lived till 91 with no sign of cognitive decline of any kind.
And how about the folks who have lost all their teeth and wear dentures who develop dementia later on in life??
If medical science KNEW what caused dementia, it could be cured and/or prevented which it cannot.
Benadryl is a big one.
Many OTC sleep aids are anti cholinergic and should be avoided.
My brother got Warnickes Korsakoffs at age 50.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dementia/symptoms-causes/syc-20352013
I had 2 Aunts that helped raise me from 0 to 20, along with my Mom. They were 3 years apart in age. Neither married or had kids. They lived together their whole lives. They even worked in the same company and retired 2 years apart. They ate the same diet, had the same friends, same habits (no bad habits). Went on the same vacations, etc. Closer than most twins since they lived together for 100 years.
One Aunt developed dementia in her mid 80s and passed away at almost 101. Her sister is 90% still cognitively intact and is living in their home at 105 yrs. old. This Aunt doesn't take vitamins (but eats a Mediterranean diet) and never exercised other than gardening and house cleaning.
People think they can control dementia but really all they can do is live well/healthy so that they don't bring it on earlier. If you're going to get it, it cannot be prevented or reversed. I know plenty of bright, healthy people who developed dementia (part of the problem is we are living so long that it is inevitable). I know an amazing woman who got ALZ at 58.
IMO people should live as well as they can, with as little stress as possible. Get exercise, have a rich social and spiritual life, keep your mind challenged. But none of this is a guarantee.
We are living longer so dementia has become more common than it was years ago.
Chemicals
Stroke
Drugs
Dementia resulting from other medical conditions Parkinson's for example.
Different types of Dementia so there are different causes.
To say "the environment" as the sole cause is limiting.
We got about a 25% improvement in Mom just getting her off sugar and getting her on an unprocessed lower carb diet. She still ate carbs.
Alcohol, which also damages the brain. And drugs.
Heredity.
General anesthetic in the elderly. My dad was very sharp until an abdominal operation, after which he cognitively slid rapidly downhill.
And now, possibly (and there is research indicating this), having Covid 19.
These are a few of the causes.
But I am up again! Ready to fight on!🥊🥊
If we knew for certain what the causes are for the hundreds of different dementias that exist, there would already be at least a few possible cures out there.
But sadly all we have are a few medications that at best only slow the progression.
And I personally don't see the purpose of delaying the progression of such a horrific disease, when they all will end in death from either the dementia itself or complications from it.
Of interest is that when I started my nursing career in the 70s there was pretty much only that word "senility" and now we can tell there are many KINDS of dementia.
Do go online and explore. It's a fascinating subject and if you read Oliver Sacks at all you will see one can spend a lifetime of study on the brain and never begin to get much more than a glimmer of the truths waiting to be found.
Watch Teepa Snow on YouTube if your looking for any information about dementia. It's an umbrella term for all dementia.
What specifically are you looking for , yourself , a loved one, or trying to prevent it?