"Dementia face" isn't a single physical look but refers to changes in facial expressions, appearance, and perception caused by dementia, including a blank stare, inappropriate emotions, muscle weakness (facial atrophy), or difficulty recognizing faces, stemming from brain damage affecting personality, behavior, and visual processing, often seen in Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) or Alzheimer's.
A blank stare can be one of the most emotionally difficult symptoms for families to witness. In many cases, this dementia vacant look is caused by cognitive overload, fatigue, or difficulty processing sensory information.
In one small study, facial asymmetry was more pronounced in people with dementia compared to their peers with normal cognition. This could be related to faster brain aging as a result of the disease. Muscle loss or atrophy can also be an early sign that someone is at risk for Alzheimer's disease.
You can live with dementia for an average of 4 to 10 years after diagnosis, but this varies significantly, with some people living 20 years or more, depending on age, overall health, and dementia type, with Alzheimer's averaging 8-10 years and vascular dementia closer to 5 years. Factors like diagnosis stage, age, gender, other health conditions (e.g., heart disease, frailty), and dementia subtype greatly influence life expectancy, with people often succumbing to infections or complications rather than the disease itself.
Early-Onset Dementia Symptoms
Although the early signs vary, common early symptoms of dementia include: memory problems, particularly remembering recent events. increasing confusion.
The 5-word memory test is a cognitive screening tool. This approach is simple—a person is told 5 words in a specific order, and a few minutes later, they're asked to recall them in the same order. It's often used by healthcare providers to test memory and short-term recall.
The number one cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease, responsible for 60-80% of cases, characterized by brain plaques (beta-amyloid protein) and tangles (tau protein) that damage nerve cells, leading to progressive memory and cognitive decline, though vascular dementia from blood vessel damage is also a significant factor.
Even though a person with dementia may end up sleeping more than a typical person of their age – even as much as 14–15 hours a day – it is unlikely to all be good quality sleep. Sleeping a lot can also be influenced by people's sleeping patterns before they had dementia, as some people need more sleep than others.
The three golden rules of dementia communication, from the SPECAL method (Specialised Early Care for Alzheimer's), are: Don't ask direct questions, Listen to the person and learn from them, and Don't contradict, which aim to reduce distress by focusing on feelings and validating the person's reality rather than correcting facts, fostering connection and calm instead of confrontation.
Seroquel is the brand name for quetiapine, an atypical antipsychotic that is used off-label to treat severe behavioral signs of dementia. It can help with bad symptoms, including agitation, aggressiveness, and hallucinations, that other drugs don't help with.
The 10 warning signs of dementia include memory loss, difficulty with familiar tasks, confusion about time/place, trouble with language, poor judgment, misplacing things, personality changes, loss of initiative, and problems with visual/spatial skills, requiring professional assessment to distinguish from normal aging.
Common changes in behaviour
When a person is diagnosed with dementia they may not understand or accept their diagnosis. They may also have limited or no awareness of their symptoms and the difficulties they are having, even when these are obvious to those around them.
Reduce your risk of dementia
The SAGE test is a short, self-administered evaluation that screens for early signs of memory or thinking problems like dementia. You take it on your own, at home or at your provider's office. It's simple and there's no studying needed. It can catch issues early.
Donepezil (also known as Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon) and galantamine (Reminyl) are used to treat the symptoms of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Donepezil is also used to treat more severe Alzheimer's disease.
You can live with dementia for an average of 4 to 10 years after diagnosis, but this varies significantly, with some people living 20 years or more, depending on age, overall health, and dementia type, with Alzheimer's averaging 8-10 years and vascular dementia closer to 5 years. Factors like diagnosis stage, age, gender, other health conditions (e.g., heart disease, frailty), and dementia subtype greatly influence life expectancy, with people often succumbing to infections or complications rather than the disease itself.
other long-term health problems – dementia tends to progress more quickly if the person is living with other conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes or high blood pressure, particularly if these are not well-managed.
But Romano says it's a leap to say that skipping breakfast actually causes dementia. “Alzheimer's disease is a complex brain illness,” he says. “Although the study found these correlations between skipping breakfast and dementia, skipping breakfast might be an indicator of other health habits or life circumstances.”
Our results confirm that vitamin D deficiency is associated with a substantially increased risk of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer disease.
A large study found that older adults who took vitamin D had a 40% lower chance of developing dementia than those who didn't. You can get vitamin D from food like fish, eggs, and vitamin D-fortified milk.
Forgetfulness can be a normal part of aging. However, dementia is not a normal part of aging. Dementia includes the loss of cognitive functioning — thinking, remembering, learning, and reasoning — and behavioral abilities to the extent that it interferes with a person's quality of life and activities.
Each dementia patient's symptoms and their onset vary, but shadowing usually occurs in the middle stages of Alzheimer's before mobility is seriously limited. Older adults who are prone to shadowing may follow their caregivers around constantly, which can be distressing for both parties.