Seniors experiencing a loss of autonomy
Understanding neurocognitive disorders
Supporting a person who is suffering from a neurocognitive disorder presents its share of challenges and raises many questions. Learning about the different types of disorders and related symptoms will help you deal with the situation.
What does "neurocognitive disorder" mean?
The term "neurocognitive disorder" refers to a collection of symptoms such as memory loss, mood swings, and balance or speech problems caused by a loss of mental abilities.
In other words, if someone close to you is diagnosed with a neurocognitive disorder, it means that deterioration of the person’s brain will compromise his or her cognitive abilities in the short or long term.
For example, you may notice that the person has trouble taking care of themselves or being independent, remembering important situations or information, speaking or communicating properly, and performing once-familiar tasks.
The natural signs of aging are not the same as a neurocognitive disorder
Neurocognitive disorders are different from "natural" aging.
Becoming more easily distracted, taking more time to complete a task, and forgetting some details of daily life, names, memories, or activities from a few days ago, but remembering them after being reminded, are considered to be natural signs of aging.
Distinguishing mild neurocognitive impairment vs. major neurocognitive disorder
Mild neurocognitive impairment
A person who has mild cognitive issues but who can nevertheless perform daily tasks, function normally, and be independent has mild neurocognitive impairment.
For example, the person might have trouble putting things back where they belong or driving a vehicle safely. Or they might forget appointments, have trouble keeping house, or repeat themselves.
This should not prevent the person from pursuing activities with friends or family, maintaining a degree of independence, and enjoying a good quality of life.
For some people, the neurocognitive issue can even remain stable for the rest of their lives. However, people with mild neurocognitive impairment have been found to be more at risk of developing a major neurocognitive disorder than others.
Major neurocognitive disorder
When a person close to you is diagnosed with a major neurocognitive disorder, that means that he or she has a disease that hampers brain functioning and cognitive abilities. Unfortunately, the effects are prolonged and irreversible.
The most well-known neurocognitive disorder is Alzheimer's disease, but there are many others.
Read on for some information about a few of them and the symptoms they cause.
Did you know?
Alzheimer's disease represents 60% to 80% of all neurocognitive disorder diagnoses.
Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disease that gradually destroys the brain cells.
Two abnormalities are at the source of this disease: amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.
Amyloid plaques are small clumps of beta-amyloid protein that collect and block the neurons. When the plaques become too big, they prevent the transfer of information between cells and cause their death.
Neurofibrillary tangles are accumulations of a protein called tau. This protein is like a rail that transports substances essential to the survival of neurons.
In a brain affected by Alzheimer's disease, this protein becomes twisted or tangled, preventing nutrients from reaching their destination. Deprived of their nutrients, the cells die.
The most well-known symptom of Alzheimer's disease is loss of memory, but it can cause many other challenges as well:
- Difficulty reasoning
- Difficulty conversing
- Difficulty making decisions
- Trouble performing simple tasks
- Trouble following conversations
- Low energy levels or apathy
- Loss of expressiveness
- Withdrawal into themselves
- Coordination and mobility challenges
- Trouble eating, bathing, and dressing
- Out-of-character behaviour
Lewy body dementia is the second most common neurodegenerative disease.
Lewy body dementia is diagnosed when abnormal deposits of the protein called alpha-synuclein appear in the nerve cells of the brain.
These deposits build up and form a mass that blocks messages between brain cells. This affects areas of the brain responsible for thinking and movement.
In the long term, a person with Lewy body dementia might experience neurocognitive impairments similar to what is caused by Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease:
- Loss of memory, language, and reasoning
- Depression and anxiety
- Changes in sleeping patterns and fatigue
- Visual hallucinations
- Errors of perception
- Muscle stiffness, tremors, stooped posture, shuffling movements
- Difficulty paying attention and focusing, following conversations, or completing projects
Cerebrovascular diseases are caused by brain lesions or low blood supply to the brain. Reduced blood flow occurs when the blood vessels are blocked, hampering the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the brain cells. This can cause cell death and lead to strokes.
The symptoms the person may experience are primarily cognitive, but they may also be physical:
- Paralysis
- Loss of speech
- Difficulty walking
- Weakness in arms or legs
- Behavioural changes
- Effects on memory, abstract thought, conversation, and visual information processing.
Frontotemporal dementia affects the frontal lobe and the temporal lobe. These areas of the brain are related to personality, behaviour, and language.
If someone close to you has frontotemporal dementia, you may notice changes in the way they think, act, or control their impulses, speech, or actions. The person might show no interest in people around them or appear to have no emotions or empathy.
There are several variants of frontotemporal dementia. Different people suffering from this disease can display different symptoms depending on the type of frontotemporal dementia they have:
- Language issues
- Behavioural changes (disinhibition, lack of hygiene, incontinence, socially inappropriate actions, personality changes, stuttering, etc.)
- Difficulty expressing themselves
- Motor skill problems
- Loss of memory
- At advanced stages, trouble swallowing.
It is also possible for someone to have two or more neurodegenerative diseases. This is known as mixed dementia.
It can be difficult to diagnose someone with mixed dementia, because many disorders share the same symptoms. But two degenerative diseases can have a greater impact and act more quickly on the brain than one, and the consequences should not be dismissed.
Don’t hesitate to talk to the person close to you about seeing a doctor so they can get an assessment done as quickly as possible.
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The information presented on this page is not a legal opinion or legal advice. This page explains in a general way the law that applies in Quebec. To obtain a legal opinion or legal advice on your personal situation, consult a legal professional.