There are over 200 subtypes of dementia, but the five most common are: Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia and mixed dementia.
The brain is made up of nerve cells that communicate with each other by sending messages. Dementia damages the nerve cells in the brain so messages can’t be sent from and to the brain effectively, which prevents the body from functioning normally.
Regardless of which type of dementia is diagnosed and what part of the brain is affected, each person will experience dementia in their own unique way.
Dementia can affect a person at any age but it is more commonly diagnosed in people over the age of 65 years. A person developing dementia before age 65 is said to have young onset dementia.
Alzheimer’s Society
The National Support phone number is 0333 150 3456
If you are affected by dementia, worried about a diagnosis or a carer, trained staff are ready to give you the support you need.
Opening hours: Mon to Weds: 9am – 8pm, Thurs and Fri: 9am – 5pm, Sat and Sun: 10am – 4pm
There is also a wealth of knowledge on the website
Diagnosis and Early Signs
It can be difficult to distinguish between the signs of natural ageing and dementia. Alzheimer’s Society provides a simple symptoms checklist.
Checklist for Possible Dementia Symptoms
This checklist will help you have a conversation with a doctor or other health
professional. Use it to note any difficulties you’ve had.
It is not intended to diagnose dementia or any other health condition. Everyone
experiences dementia in their own way. There can be other reasons for any changes you’ve noticed.
Jennifer’s story
- FCN has created an document ‘Dementia in Farming’, click here or the image to read the article
- You can read Jennifer’s full story of Dementia in Farming on the FCN website here – authored by Jennifer Evans, whose husband Patrick has dementia.