Dementia is a serious brain disorder that interferes with a person’s ability to carry out everyday tasks.

• The key feature of dementia is a decline in cognitive functions. These are mental processes such as thinking, reasoning, learning, problem solving, memory, language, and speech.
• Other features that occur frequently in dementia include changes in personality and behavior.
• Generally, these symptoms are not considered dementia unless they have continued unabated for at least 6 months.
• Dementia has many different causes. Some may be reversible, such as certain infections, drug intoxication, and liver diseases. Of the irreversible causes, the most common in older adults is Alzheimer's disease.
• Although dementia is frequently linked to old age (“getting senile”), it is not a normal part of aging. Even children with certain degenerative brain disorders can develop dementia.read more