Although the best known and most common type of dementia is Alzheimer’s, there are many others that, in some cases, could be detected years before receiving a diagnosis from a specialist. Although we think that rapid memory loss is the clearest symptom (and it really is), recent neurological research has discovered that there are an important prior signal which we don’t usually pay attention to.
The study we mentioned was carried out in the United Kingdom, and the most important conclusion of the neurologists refers to the possible direct relationship between certain changes in vision and dementia early.
What is dementia?
There are a large number of diseases that are associated with aging, such as osteoporosis, hearing loss or cardiovascular diseases. In these cases, early signs usually occur that alert us to the possibility of diseases, unlike other types of disorders, those that have to do with memorywhose advance seems more lightning-fast.
Regarding what dementia really is, Dr. Brooke T. Johnson, a neuro-ophthalmologist at Endeavor Health, explains that this disease is called generically, and refers to a impaired cognitive function severe enough to not allow the performance of daily tasks.
In the words of the specialist, “dementia affects memory, thinking, orientation, understanding, calculation, learning ability, language and judgment”. Although the best-known type of dementia is Alzheimer’s, there are other manifestations: vascular dementia, which is caused by Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia, and posterior cortical atrophy, which mainly affects vision.
This is the connection between early dementia and vision
According to the expert, dementia can affect the frontal and temporal lobes (of the brain), which causes Object recognition problems. It can also affect the occipital lobes, leading to problems with visual processing. Some vision changes could be an early sign of dementia, including loss of contrast sensitivitycolor vision, depth perception and object recognition.
These symptoms that the doctor talks about can also contribute to other eye diseases, which manifest themselves before any visible memory impairment. And it is at this point that the supervision of the ophthalmologist is especially necessary, who will know how to discern the cause of certain warning signs.
Dr. Johnson relates the visual hallucinations with the Lewy body type of dementia, which could be attributed to other ocular causes or believed to be a more psychological diagnosis. Thus, the new study links visual alterations with dementia.
Signs that can warn us (in time) of possible dementia
The clearest symptom of the onset of dementia is, without a doubt, progressive memory loss. However, there are other signs that warn of this: sudden changes in mood, inability to carry out tasks that until now were everyday tasks, loss of objects, difficulty finding words with which to express oneself, or inability to do several things. tasks at the same time.
And it is that detecting the pathology in advance (which there is no cure) It will allow the patient to be warned and even slow down the progression. The doctor believes that “if it is detected in time, treatments and lifestyle modifications can be made, such as physical and mental exercise, social connection, consuming a healthy diet, sleeping well and reducing tobacco and alcohol consumption.”
Additionally, scientists have shown that treating hearing loss or visual impairment helps alleviate symptoms of dementia: “Early recognition up to 12 years earlier allows patients and their families process the illness and get the support they need“.
References
Ahmet Begde, Thomas Wilcockson, Carol Brayne, Eef Hogervorst. ‘Visual processing speed and its association with future dementia development in a population-based prospective cohort: EPIC-Norfolk’. Published by National Library of Medicine in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38424122/
Do you want to receive the best content to take care of your health and feel good? Sign up for our new newsletter.
#study #reveals #early #symptom #predict #dementia #years #earlier
