Dementia is an acquired neurological syndrome associated with persistent or progressive deterioration in intellectual functions, language, memory, emotion and behaviour.  It is primarily associated with people 65 years of age or older, though not always.

Common types of dementia include Alzheimer’s, Frontotemporal (including Pick’s disease), dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease, dementia associated with Huntington’s disease, infectious dementia, e.g. due to HIV or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, vascular dementia, dementia associated with strokes, and dementia associated with traumatic brain injury.

Although some forms of dementia are temporary and reversible, most are not.  Treatment focuses helping people with dementia manage their daily routines for as long as possible and to maximising their quality of life.

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