Dementia Center - Danville, VADanville Neurologist Doctors for DementiaType of Physician: Neurologist What is a Neurologist? A certification by the Board of Psychiatry & Neurology; practitioners focus on the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease or impaired function of the brain, spinal cord, muscles and nervous system, as well as the blood vessels that relate to these structures. The neurologist is often the primary physician but also serves as a consultant to other physicians and may render all levels of care, including the continuing care of outpatients and/or inpatients. The neurologist will often perform and interpret tests that relate to the nervous system or muscles. Specialty: Neurology Common Name: Neurologist Doctors in Danville * Danville Neurology Associates Inc  Martinsville Neurological  Thomas M Truitt DO  Jeffrey B Gogel DO  Wiggington Road Family Practice  Roanoke Neurological Associates  Roanoke Neurological Associates  Roanoke Neurological Associates  Roanoke Neurological Associates  Roanoke Neurological Associates  Roanoke Neurological Associates  Roanoke Neurological Associates  Roanoke Neurological Associates  Valley Neurology Associates PC  Valley Neurology Associates PC  Lewis-Gale Physicians Neurology  Lewis-Gale Physicians Neurology  Neurology Services  Rollin J Hawley Jr. MD  Southside Surgical Associates Danville, VirginiaUpcoming Local Events2012-06-02
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DementiaIntroduction to DementiaA woman in her early 50s was admitted to a hospital because of increasingly odd behavior. Her family reported that she had been showing memory problems and strong feelings of jealousy. She also had become disoriented at home and was hiding objects. During a doctor's examination, the woman was unable to remember her husband's name, the year, or how long she had been at the hospital. She could read but did not seem to understand what she read, and she stressed the words in an unusual way. She sometimes became agitated and seemed to have hallucinations and irrational fears. This woman, known as Auguste D., was the first person reported to have the disease now known as Alzheimer's disease (AD) after Alois Alzheimer, the German doctor who first described it. After Auguste D. died in 1906, doctors examined her brain and found that it appeared shrunken and contained several unusual features, including strange clumps of protein called plaques and tangled fibers inside the nerve cells. Memory impairments and other symptoms of dementia, which means "deprived of mind," had been described in older adults since ancient times. However, because Auguste D. began to show symptoms at a relatively early age, doctors did not think her disease could be related to what was then called "senile dementia. "The word senile is derived from a Latin term that means, roughly, "old age." It is now clear that Alzheimer's disease is a major cause of dementia in elderly people as well as in relatively young adults. Furthermore, we know that it is only one of many disorders that can lead to dementia. The U. S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment estimates that as many as 6.8 million people in the United States have dementia, and at least 1.8 million of those are severely affected. Studies in some communities have found that almost half of all people age 85 and older have some form of dementia. Although it is common in very elderl... Recommended Reading Related to DementiaWhat is Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease?Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, degenerative, invariably fatal brain disorder. It affects about one person in every one million people per year worldwide; in the United States there are about 200 cases per year. CJD usually appears in later life and runs a rapid course. Typically, onset of symptoms occurs about age 60, and about 90 percent of patients die within 1 year. In the early stages of disease, patients may have failing memory, behavioral changes, lack of coordination and visual disturbances. As the illness progresses, mental deterioration becomes pronounced and involuntary movements, blindness, weakness of extremities, and coma may occur. There are three major categories of CJD:
Other Related Dementia ArticlesEmergency Contact for Danville
Nearby Danville Hospitals *Danville Regional Medical Center Southern Virginia Mental Health Institute Morehead Memorial Hospital Annie Penn Hospital Person Memorial Hospital Memorial Hospital of Martinsville & Henry County Halifax Regional Hospital Featured Articles*Provider Directory Terms of Use: The WebMD 'Provider Directory' is provided by WebMD for use by the general public as a quick reference of information about Providers. The Provider Directory is not intended as a tool for verifying the credentials, qualifications, or abilities of any Provider contained therein. Inclusion in the Provider Directory does not imply recommendation or endorsement nor does omission in the Provider Directory imply WebMD disapproval. |
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Alzheimer's Disease
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