Any accident, impact or trauma - even minor - if the head is injured - can lead to posttraumatic dementia, a condition in which the body's neurological responses, brain function, and intellectual performance are reduced. What are the symptoms of posttraumatic dementia and can it be treated?

Post-traumatic dementiais referred to as "boxing dementia" because numerous blows, also to the head, which are de alt in the ring, cause this disease. However, post-traumatic dementia can result from more than just boxing damage. It can be caused by any head injury, including the one that seems relatively mild at first glance.

The immediate cause of post-traumatic dementia is damage to the brain's tissues, but also to the surrounding nerves, blood vessels and membranes. The blows are often so strong that the skull structures are broken (opened). This type of damage, in turn, leads to disturbances in the functioning of the brain.

Sometimes the body repairs damage on its own, but even in such cases, returning to full fitness, before the injury, is not always possible. Even more so, when a hematoma forms in the brain as a result of an injury, fluid collects improperly or an infection develops.

The most common head injuries occur during road accidents, falls, beatings and gunshots, and practicing sports, especially boxing. Children who cycle, victims of domestic violence and the elderly with imbalances are also at risk of such injuries.

Symptoms of posttraumatic dementia

The most common symptom of posttraumatic dementia is:

  • dementia - a significant reduction in mental performance
  • tremors when you are resting, not when you are doing something
  • decreased activity
  • impoverishment or even complete disappearance of facial expressions
  • speech difficulties, slurred speech
  • problems with maintaining a proper body posture
  • muscle stiffness (spasticity)
  • problems with concentration
  • slowing down of thought processes
  • irritability
  • impulsive behavior
  • mood swings
  • behaviors not adapted to specific social and social situations
  • insomnia
  • headaches
  • fatigue
  • apathyor on the contrary, aggression

Long-term memory disturbances also usually appear.

Important

The symptoms of post-traumatic dementia, at least some of them, can occur years after the injury. However, most often the first symptoms appear in the first month after the accident.

Post-traumatic dementia: diagnosis

The diagnosis of post-traumatic dementia includes a medical interview, thanks to which it will be possible to establish as many details as possible related to the accident - its nature, circumstances, condition of the victim, symptoms that have already appeared. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography are helpful. The participation of doctors of various speci alties is recommended and often necessary - usually an internist, neurologist, radiologist, surgeon, psychiatrist, psychologist.

What complications can posttraumatic dementia lead to?

Post-traumatic dementia can lead to serious complications, the most common of which are:

  • epilepsy
  • depression
  • long-term anxiety and anxiety
  • manie
  • psychosis
  • obsessive-compulsive behavior
  • suicidal thoughts

Both the symptoms and complications of posttraumatic dementia can take different forms, depending on the part of the brain that has been injured from the injury.

Treatment of posttraumatic dementia

Treatment of post-traumatic dementia depends primarily on the extent of the injury and its location, as well as the general he alth of the injured person. Surgery or neurosurgery is often necessary, but patient observation is sometimes sufficient. The therapy also uses pharmacological drugs to improve the work of the brain and eliminate or alleviate unpleasant physical symptoms.

Category:

Neurology