Discussion Protective Factors for Dementia

Protective Factors for Dementia
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Protective Factors for Dementia
With approximately 850,000 people in the United Kingdom being diagnosed with dementia in the year 2015 and over 61,000 deaths, resulting from the disease, being recorded in the same year; dementia has ended up among one of the most significant health challenges in the world (“Dementia Now Leading Cause of Death,” 2016). The current reality in the health sector is that, like most cases of cancer, no one survives the diagnosis of dementia. Therefore, the only option left for people is to seek prevention measures that will keep them away from being potential victims of dementia.
The onset of dementia starts with the shrinkage of the brain tissue before proceeding to affect the rest of the brain. “Dementia Symptoms and Areas of the Brain” (n.d.) states that the hippocampus and the structures connecting it to the rest of the brain are the first areas of the brain affected. According to “Memory Consolidation” (n.d.), the memory retrieval process is only possible through the hippocampus. Burnett (2015) however claims that memories stored long ago are not dependent on the functioning of the hippocampus. As a result, despite one having dementia impairing the activities of the hippocampus, they are still able to remember their childhood memories. However, they are unlikely to recall an event that took place more than an hour ago.
An individual developing dementia may resul…