Answer. Shuffling, leaning patterns, unsteady gait and/or balance, and decrease in coordination and physical strength are all fairly common symptoms of dementia, often of the non-Alzheimer's type (such as vascular or fronto-temporal).
As more strokes occur and dementia progresses, people may have other symptoms due to the strokes. An arm or a leg may become weak or paralyzed. People may have difficulty speaking. For example, they may slur their speech.
changes to your mood, personality or behaviour. feeling disoriented and confused. difficulty walking and keeping balance. symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, such as problems with memory and language (many people with vascular dementia also have Alzheimer's disease)
People with vascular dementia also experience neurological symptoms including: Exaggerated reflexes. Problems with walking and balance5. Weakness in the limbs, hands, and feet.
As a person's vascular dementia progresses, they may begin to behave in ways that seem out of character. For example, they may become more agitated or aggressive, or have sleep problems. They may also act in ways that others find embarrassing or difficult to understand.
On average, people with vascular dementia live for around five years after symptoms begin, less than the average for Alzheimer's disease. Because vascular dementia shares many of the same risk factors as heart attack and stroke, in many cases, the person's death will be caused by a stroke or heart attack.
Life expectancy is less if the person is diagnosed in their 80s or 90s. A few people with Alzheimer's live for longer, sometimes for 15 or even 20 years. Vascular dementia – around five years.
Depending on the type of degenerative condition someone is experiencing, damage caused to the brain happens in different ways. For people living with vascular and frontotemporal dementia, experts agree that muscle weakness and limb paralysis is often due to a series of mini, or large strokes in the brain.
Dementia inhibits the ability to walk
Dementia can affect areas of the brain that are responsible for movement and balance. Many individuals affected by Alzheimer's and other types of dementia gradually lose the ability to walk and perform everyday tasks.
Vascular dementia signs and symptoms include: Confusion. Trouble paying attention and concentrating. Reduced ability to organize thoughts or actions.
A person in the late stage of Alzheimer's should always be treated with compassion and respect. It's important to focus on preserving quality of life, dignity and comfort. In the late stage of Alzheimer's, the person typically becomes unable to walk.
I found that people with both types of dementia could be distinguished from the normal ageing group based on their walking pattern. They walked slower with shorter steps, were more variable and asymmetric, and spent longer with both feet on the ground compared to control subjects.
Vascular dementia symptoms can occur suddenly, such as after a stroke or a series of strokes, but this type of dementia also can develop as gradually as other types. Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia also often occur together. The mild or middle stage can last for several years before symptoms begin to worsen.
Nutritional Deficiencies. Poor dietary intake can result in weak leg muscles. For example, an older person with a poor diet may not get enough calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium in their body. These nutrients are necessary to maintain healthy bones and muscles.
One test that may help is gait (walking) speed. Previous research demonstrated that declining gait speed is associated with dementia. Further, several earlier studies showed that a dual decline in both gait speed and cognitive function is a better predictor of dementia risk than either measure alone.
Men and women with Alzheimer's disease often lose muscle mass, and the loss of muscle may be linked to shrinkage of the brain.
There are different personal risk factors that cause people to fall, however, people with dementia are at greater risk because they: are more likely to experience problems with mobility, balance and muscle weakness. can have difficulties with their memory and finding their way around.
Most of the contractures in persons with dementia are either of the soft-tissue type involving skin, subcutaneous tissue, tendons, and ligaments, or myogenic, where a muscle has been left in a non-neutral position. Both of these result in joint contractures with loss of ROM.
Stiff-person syndrome – This is named after the way the syndrome causes someone's muscles to spasm, leaving them stiff and impaired in their movement. While it's incredibly rare, there have been cases reported of people with dementia displaying stiff-person symptoms as their dementia progresses.
For many years, individuals with frontotemporal dementia show muscle weakness and coordination problems, leaving them needing a wheelchair — or unable to leave the bed. These muscle issues can cause problems swallowing, chewing, moving and controlling bladder and/or bowels.
“The reasons why people living with dementia are more likely to fall include having problems with mobility, balance and strength. They are prone to pacing, have trouble finding their way around and paying attention to hazards, and tend to walk too fast for their abilities.
One of the most common causes of death for people with dementia is pneumonia caused by an infection. A person in the later stages of dementia may have symptoms that suggest that they are close to death, but can sometimes live with these symptoms for many months.
If the person's mental abilities or behaviour changes suddenly over a day or two, they may have developed a separate health problem. For example, a sudden deterioration or change may be a sign that an infection has led to delirium. Or it may suggest that someone has had a stroke.
If you aren't sure which stage of dementia you or your loved one are in right now, take an online Alzheimer's test. This can help pinpoint an individual's symptoms and stage. –Is It Dementia? If you want to know whether you or a loved one's forgetfulness is a sign of aging or dementia, try the Clock Test or SAGE Test.