| |
Basic InformationMore InformationLatest NewsAlzheimer's May Strike Women and Men in Different WaysHistory of Mental Illness Tied to Earlier Onset of Alzheimer's DiseaseAHA News: Black, Hispanic Families Hit Hardest by DementiaWhy Some 'Super Ager' Folks Keep Their Minds Dementia-FreeDementia Seen in Younger Adults Shows Even More Brain Damage Than Alzheimer'sToo Little Sleep Could Raise Your Dementia RiskSpecialist Care for Alzheimer's Is Tough to Find for Poorer, Rural AmericansTony Bennett's Struggle With Alzheimer's RevealedFluid-Filled Spaces in the Brain Linked to Worsening MemoryCOVID Vaccine Advised for Alzheimer's Patients, Their CaregiversAphasia Affects Brain Similar to Alzheimer's, But Without Memory LossCaregivers Feeling the Strain This Tough Holiday SeasonYears Before Diagnosis, People With Alzheimer's Lose Financial AcumenCould Dirty Air Help Speed Alzheimer's?Strong Sleeping Pills Tied to Falls, Fractures in Dementia PatientsAnxiety Might Speed Alzheimer's: StudyPre-Op 'Brain Games' Might Prevent Post-Op DeliriumDoes Hard Work Help Preserve the Brain?Staying Active as You Age Not a Guarantee Against DementiaSmog Tied to Raised Risk for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's DiseasePoor Brain Blood Flow Might Spur 'Tangles' of Alzheimer'sIs Apathy an Early Sign of Dementia?A-Fib Treatment Reduces Patients' Dementia RiskFall Risk Rises Even in Alzheimer's Early StagesPTSD May Be Tied to Greater Dementia RiskNew Research Links Another Gene to Alzheimer's RiskIs Rural Appalachia a Hotspot for Alzheimer's?Why Are Dementia Patients Getting Risky Psychiatric Drugs?Get Dizzy When Standing Up? It Could Be Risk Factor for DementiaCan Seniors Handle Results of Alzheimer's Risk Tests?More Education May Slow Start of Early-Onset Alzheimer'sUnder 50 and Overweight? Your Odds for Dementia Later May Rise9/11 First Responders Have Higher Odds for Alzheimer's: StudyCould the Flu Shot Lower Your Risk for Alzheimer's?Will Your Brain Stay Sharp Into Your 90s? Certain Factors Are KeyMany Americans With Dementia Live in Homes With GunsBrain's Iron Stores May Be Key to Alzheimer'sHormones May Explain Greater Prevalence of Alzheimer's in WomenMiddle-Age Obesity Linked to Higher Odds for DementiaCould Crohn's, Colitis Raise Dementia Risk?5 Healthy Steps to Lower Your Odds for Alzheimer'sCOVID-19 Brings New Challenges to Alzheimer's CaregivingAlzheimer's Gene Linked to Severe COVID-19 RiskHealthier Heart, Better Brain in Old AgeAHA News: Hearing Loss and the Connection to Alzheimer's Disease, DementiaBrain Plaques Signal Alzheimer's Even Before Other Symptoms Emerge: StudyCertain Gene Might Help Shield At-Risk People From Alzheimer'sHow to Connect With Nursing Home Patients in QuarantineHow to Ease Loved Ones With Alzheimer's Through the PandemicCaring for Dementia Patient During Pandemic? Try These Stress-Busting Tips Questions and AnswersVideosLinksBook Reviews |
| |
Traumatic Brain Injuries ContinuedRudolph C. Hatfield, PhD., edited by Kathryn Patricelli, MAThe DSM-5 defines two types of neurocognitive disorders. A mild neurocognitive disorder is diagnosed when a person experiences a change in their cognition (thinking), but the change in their cognitive abilities is not severe enough to cause them significant impairment or distress in their daily functioning. These individuals can typically deal with these mild changes. A major neurocognitive disorder occurs when the change in cognition significantly affects the person's daily functioning and they need some form of assistance or intervention to function normally (or cannot function normally even if they have assistance).
The DSM-5 has diagnostic criteria for a mild or major neurocognitive disorder due to traumatic brain injury. The criteria include:
- Cognitive Problems: The person must have a diagnosis of a mild or moderate neurocognitive disorder.
- Evidence of a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): There must be evidence that the person has experienced a head injury. In addition, the head injury must produce one or more of the following:
- Having experienced a loss of consciousness (there is no limit on the duration).
- Being confused or disoriented (difficulty relating the date, time, place, etc. where a person is).
- Neurological signs that include brain scan results, seizures, problems with vision, problems with paralysis, etc. that suggest a TBI.
- The experience of posttraumatic amnesia (memory loss following the head injury).
- Persistence: The neurocognitive disorder must occur right after the head injury or immediately after a person regains consciousness from a TBI. It must continue for significant length of time following the head injury (this is rather loosely defined).
Other diagnostic specifiers can also be included that further describe the actual type of injury, the actual effects of the TBI, and so forth. Most often people who receive a diagnosis of a mild neurocognitive disorder due to TBI are not considered to have dementia because of a TBI. Having a major neurocognitive disorder due to TBI would often qualify for a diagnosis of dementia because of a TBI, depending on the symptoms being shown.
The symptoms that happen because of a TBI can be quite variable depending on:
- the severity of the TBI
- the length of time a person was unconscious
- whether the person has had many TBI's
- the location of the TBI.
TBI symptoms typically are present very soon after the person has had the TBI. However, in some cases, many of the emotional factors associated with having a TBI may not occur until much later. In addition, people who suffer from CTE may not begin to experience significant issues for some time following their last concussion and these issues may progressively get worse.
Some of the early symptoms associated with having a TBI range from:
- Having headaches that can last for a short time, come and go, or in some cases, be constant.
- Mild problems with attention to major problems with paying attention.
- Problems with confusion which typically go away in mild to moderate head injuries, but may be long-lasting in moderate to severe head injuries.
- Problems with vision.
- Ringing in the ears.
- Dry mouth or an unpleasant taste in the mouth.
- Nausea and even vomiting.
- Problems with sleep.
Longer-term issues can include thinking problems that can range from being mild to severe. Most often TBI's produce problems with attention and concentration as well as problems with memory. Other changes are also common including:
- problems with decision-making
- producing language
- understanding language
- visual problems
- controlling one's body movements
- many other problems that depend on the severity and location of the brain injury.
Longer-term issues can also include issues with mood. This can include people becoming apathetic (don't really care about things), suffering many bouts of depression, having issues with anxiety, and in some cases, becoming suicidal. In moderate to severe cases, people may display personality changes. This might include being very aggressive, impulsive, quick to anger, having problems controlling their emotions, etc. Again, the actual types of issues that any person will experience depend on the person's psychological history, the location and severity of the head injury, and the type of treatment they get following their head injury.
Approaches to treating people who suffer TBI's will be discussed in the next section.
|