Senile Dementia

Synonyms

Late-onset Alzheimer’s disease; Late-onset dementia; Neurocognitive disorder

Definition

Dementia is an acquired syndrome consisting of impairment in multiple areas of cognition such as memory, perception, language, executive function, calculation ability, praxis, semantic knowledge, and personality or social behavior (Mendez and Cummings 2003). Although most definitions recognize memory impairment as the cardinal feature, they are unsuitable for dementing illnesses where other symptoms predominate. To address this concern, many classification systems attempt to provide criteria for specific types of dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease, fronto-temporal dementia, and others. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-V) includes differential dementia diagnoses under broader terminology of major or mild neurocognitive disorder (APA 2013). To meet criteria for a neurocognitive disorder, the impairments must not occur exclusively in the context...