What happens to a person’s brain and body as dementia gets worse?

What happens to a person’s brain and body as dementia gets worse?

Unfortunately, many types of dementia are conditions that worsen over time. When your brain doesn’t get the nutrients and oxygen it needs, or “junk” (abnormal proteins) blocks needed communication between the nerve cells of the brain, your brain tissue begins to die.

Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia usually begin with memory loss or lapses in judgment — things that can be lived with for a while. As you lose more and more brain function, functions vital to life begin to be affected. Vital functions include breathing, digestion, heart rate and sleep.

In the late stages of dementia, people can’t perform the tasks needed to keep their bodies alive. Brain damage and muscle weakness no longer allow even simple, needed movements. You can’t communicate, walk, talk, control your bladder or bowels, feed yourself, or chew or swallow food without help.

When you can’t care for yourself, move about, eat or drink enough to keep yourself hydrated and nourished, plus have mental decline, you leave yourself vulnerable to other illnesses. Pneumonia is one of these commonly seen illnesses in people with dementia. With a now frail body, a person may not be able to fight infections or even benefit from medication. The person’s pain and discomfort may outweigh treatment options that can only offer a short-term benefit.

At this point, many families choose hospice for end-of-life care. Hospice provides comfort care, with a focus on your quality of life over life-extending measures. Many people who pass away from a dementia-related condition don’t have that listed on their death certificate. This is because the complication from which they die — pneumonia, for example — is listed instead. Another reason may be that many people were never officially diagnosed with a dementia condition before they passed away.