Dementia in Parkinson’s Disease
Around 30% of all people living with Parkinson’s disease of any age will develop dementia, although some people will experience some degree of difficulty with cognitive functions such as memory and thinking without ever developing a dementia. There are two primary forms of dementia that occur in people living with Parkinson’s disease. These are;
- Dementia with Lewy Bodies (which you can find more information about here) (hyperlink to types of dementia- dementia with lewy bodies)
- Parkinson’s dementia
Parkinson’s dementia occurs when someone has already had motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease for some time. Experiencing signs of dementia can be difficult to come to terms with when a person already has a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. For this reason it is particularly important to talk with a trusted healthcare professional about your concerns if you feel that you are experiencing difficulties with memory and thinking skills.
This leaflet from the Parkinson’s UK describes some of the main feature of Parkinson’s dementia. This includes:
- What is dementia
- Common symptoms experienced with Parkinson’s dementia
- What causes Parkinson’s dementia
- How it is diagnosed
- What can be done to help
- Who to get help from
- Caring for someone with Parkinson’s dementia, including practical advice on communication and support groups, and useful contact numbers
Parkinson’s UK also provide further information about supporting people with Parkinson’s dementia in other factsheets which can be found by clicking on this website http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/publications?search_api_views_fulltext=&field_publication_category=All&sort_by=title&sort_order=ASC&sorting=title%7CASC&page=1 and searching for dementia