According to the World Health Organization, around 50 million people have dementia across the globe, and the worst part is there are nearly 10 million new cases every year. It is important to take measures to keep dementia at bay. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia that contributes to around 60-70 percent of the cases. However, mixed dementia is the most prevalent form of dementia in older adults, and this article aims to throw light upon its various causes and symptoms.

Dementia affects the memory, thinking, behavior, and the ability to perform everyday activities since there is a deterioration in cognitive function in this condition. People often take their forgetfulness to be a normal part of aging so take no action as such. Yes, forgetfulness is the by-product of aging that results from changes in the brain as one grows old. However, if it interferes with your day-to-day activities then it is a cause for concern, and you should get yourself or your loved one evaluated without further delay. The earlier the diagnosis (dementia), the better. Someone dealing with Alzheimer’s or dementia may be in need for assistance which ensures he/she leads a meaningful and quality life.

Dementia is caused by physical changes in the brain and there are different types, which are as follows:

1.      Lewy Body Dementia

2.      Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease

3.      Frontotemporal dementia

4.      Huntington’s disease

5.      Mixed dementia

6.      Vascular dementia

7.      Parkinson’s disease dementia

8.      Korsakoff syndrome

9.      Posterior Cortical Atrophy

10.  Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

As the name suggests, mixed dementia is a combination of several types of dementia, and most often a combination of Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and/or Lewy body dementia. The most common combination is vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Symptoms and Causes of Mixed Dementia:

The symptoms vary from individual to individual depending on the types of brain changes in the person (on the types of dementia an individual has) and the regions in the brain affected. Symptoms may be same or different from those of Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia. Research is still ongoing in a bid to gain a strong insight into the mixed dementia symptoms.

Alzheimer’s disease is a major risk factor for mixed dementia, and it is factors like age, family history, and heredity that put someone at a great risk for the (Alzheimer’s) disease development. Age is the strongest risk factor followed by family history, and genetics and environmental factors also play a role in this context. Mixed dementia is not that easy to diagnose. According to researchers, more attention should be paid to this condition since the combination of more than one type of dementia-related brain changes may affect the brain in a more serious way than one type alone.

Treatment for Mixed Dementia:

Currently, there isn’t any cure for any type of dementia. However, physicians arrive at a decision about treatment basis the type of dementia that has been diagnosed in mixed dementia. There are no medications specifically approved by the FDA to treat mixed dementia. But if the type of dementia diagnosed turns out to be Alzheimer’s disease, physicians may prescribe the drugs that are FDA-approved for Alzheimer’s to the person suffering from mixed dementia.