What are the clinical features of early and predementia
PRE DEMENTIA is characterized by the following
- In predementia mild cognitive difficulties are present up to eight years before a person meets requirement of the clinical criteria for diagnosis of AD.
- The most noticeable deficit in predementia is memory loss.
- Subtle problems in other domains such as with the executive functions, attentiveness, planning, abstract thinking and flexibility or impairments in semantic memory can occur.
- Apathy is seen in predementia
EARLY DEMENTIA
- In early dementia there is increasing impairment of learning and memory.
- AD does not impair all memory capacities equally
- Older memories of the person's life (episodic memory), implicit memory and facts learned (semantic memory), are impaired to a lesser degree than new facts or memories.
- Language problems are characterised by a decreasing vocabulary and decreased word fluency.
- People with AD also experience difficulties while performing fine motor tasks.
- Apraxia is also seen in early dementia.
