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What is dementia?

Dementia is a term used to describe a group of diseases characterised by deterioration in memory and thought processes which lead to deleterious changes in behaviour and function. A good shorthand term is "chronic brain failure."

Within Australia, 2-4% of people over the age of 65 have dementia, and this number is expected to double by the year 2011. More than 30% of people over the age of 80 have dementia.

Features commonly seen in people with dementia include:

• disorientation
• language difficulties
• impaired comprehension and concentration
• changes in mood and personality

• Alzheimer's Disease (affecting approximately 50% or more of those people with dementia)
• Vascular Dementia (secondary to multiple strokes in the brain)

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