dementia

     

Dementia (from Latin e- "apart, away" + mens (genitive mentis) "mind") is the progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Although dementia is far more common in the geriatric population, it may occur in any stage of adulthood. This age cutoff is defining, as similar sets of symptoms due to organic brain dysfunction are given different names in populations younger than adulthood (see, for instance, developmental disorders).

Trivia about dementia

  • Cognitive deterioration, sometimes "senile"
  • Seen in many forms, this condition literally means "out of one's mind" in Latin
  • This impairment of mental function can be "senile" or can be a symptom of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease