Vascular Dementia

welcome. This forum is for all types of dementia. You can search for old posts about Vascular or VD. The search feature is at the top of the page. I am including some helpful info: Dementia is an umbrella term for a loss of cognitive functioning—thinking, remembering, and reasoning—that interferes with daily life. The specific type of dementia depends on the underlying brain changes. [1, 2, 3]

The most common types include:1. Alzheimer's Disease

• Overview: The most common type, accounting for 60-80% of all cases.
• Cause: Abnormal buildup of proteins in the brain, forming amyloid plaques and tau tangles.
• Key Symptoms: Difficulty remembering recent conversations or events, wandering, confusion, and progressive memory decline. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

2. Vascular Dementia

• Overview: The second most common type.
• Cause: Conditions that damage or block blood vessels in the brain, preventing adequate blood and oxygen supply.
• Key Symptoms: Problems with planning, organizing, making decisions, and concentrating. Symptoms often present in sudden "steps" or drops in ability rather than a slow, steady decline. [1, 2, 3, 4]

3. Lewy Body Dementia (LBD)

• Overview: Includes both Dementia with Lewy Bodies and Parkinson's disease dementia.
• Cause: Abnormal protein deposits called Lewy bodies accumulate in the brain.
• Key Symptoms: Visual hallucinations, significant day-to-day fluctuations in alertness, sleep disturbances (acting out dreams), and motor control issues like stiffness or tremors. [1, 2, 3, 4]

4. Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)

• Overview: Tends to affect younger people, frequently diagnosed between ages 40 and 65.
• Cause: Progressive damage and nerve cell loss in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain.
• Key Symptoms: Drastic changes in personality, behavior, loss of inhibition, and language/speaking difficulties. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

There Are other types I didn’t list. You can private message people on this forum. Just be sure it’s someone who has posted recently. Get your legal affairs in order now. DPOA, Medical POA etc. Read the book “The 36 Hour Day” which is very helpful. Ask any questions you have here. Many will answer. 💜

Welcome. My mom has vascular dementia. The biggest difference I have found compared with Alzheimer’s (my mil had Alzheimer’s) is that mom really doesn’t have as much of an issue with memory. She is not able to recognize her own symptoms or limitations (anosognosia) and this has been very difficult. She has problems with , poor judgment, priorities, no worry about being on time, doing complicated tasks, learning new things, executive functioning, anxiety, math, following the plot on a movie, lack of social filter on occasion, depression and anger (because she believes there is nothing wrong with her and I stuck her in a home for no good reason). She has also become a very picky eater and is very demanding. She is unsteady on her feet but I can only get her to use a cane if I take her out of the building and even then she rolls he eyes and gives a big huff. It’s not uncommon for those caring for someone with Alzheimer’s to suggest a fib that will put something off til a later time (as a way to avoid a request or demand), knowing that by the next day (or sooner) their lo will have forgotten all about it. This would never work with my mom. Sadly, I sometimes think a poor memory would be less difficult for her and me. I will attach a few resources that might be helpful. I wish there were more specifically for vascular dementia, but I guess there really is no way of knowing what is next regardless of the type of dementia.

https://iona.org/therapeutic-fibs-ok/