Main Causes for Personality Changes with Dementia

Dealing with dementia can be tough for anyone. If your elderly loved one has dementia, you will have to deal with the personality changes they go through. This can be tough. However, one of the things that could help is to know more about the main causes of these changes. The more that you understand the disease and what causes symptoms, the more you can learn how to handle it.

Changes to the Brain

With dementia, there are going to be changes to various parts of the brain. These changes can cause your elderly loved one to experience personality changes. Some of the brain changes that you should know about with dementia include the following:

• Frontal Lobe Changes – This can affect movement, behavior, memory, and thinking.
• Temporal Lobe Changes – This can affect feelings, learning process, and hearing.
• Brain Stem Changes – This can affect body temperature, heart rate, and breathing.
• Parietal Lobe Changes – This can affect sense of touch and language.
• Cerebellum Changes – This can affect coordination and balance.

These are some of the changes that happen to the brain if someone has dementia. You and the senior care providers can work together to determine how to handle these changes.

Changes to the Body

With dementia, there are also going to be changes to your elderly loved one’s body. Some of these changes that you should know about include the following:

• More Infections – There is a higher risk for infections such as urinary tract infections (these can cause delusions and hallucinations).
• Increased Pain – Your loved one might have more pain (this might come across as agitation or aggression).
• Medications – Your loved one might be taking medications that cause their personality changes.

If you or a senior care provider notice any of these changes, be sure to mention it to your elderly loved one’s doctor.

Changes to Perception

With dementia, your elderly loved one may have changes to their perception, as well. Some of the personality changes that you might notice if this is the case include the following:

• Increased agitation
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Isolation

If you or the senior care providers believe your loved one is experiencing perception changes, talk to their doctor.

Conclusion

These are some of the main causes for personality changes with someone who has dementia. If your elderly loved one has this disease, they are going to experience more changes to their personality as the dementia progressses. Keep an eye on these changes. Make a plan with their senior care provider and doctor to handle the changes as they arise.

Sources
https://medlineplus.gov/dementia.html