JOURNAL of MULTISCALE NEUROSCIENCE

REVIEW

Dementia is a set of symptoms characterized by deterioration of memory and cognitive functions. Dementia diseases include Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia, and mixed dementia. This disease represents an escalating social issue, particularly in a society with an increasing elderly population. In 2019, 271,998 people succumbed to dementia, making Alzheimer's disease the sixth most prevalent cause of death. The pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease is complex and not fully understood. It is a multifaceted disease, with its pathogenesis influenced by a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. One of the genes involved in the pathogenesis of the disease is the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene, which is one of the most common risk factors for Alzheimer's disease. The significance of other genes, including presenilin genes (PSEN1 and PSEN2), the TREM2 gene, the MAPT gene, and the APP gene, linked to various forms of dementia, is also emphasized. Another issue is the growing number of identified genetic variants within genes implicated in the onset of dementia. Dementia diseases are also characterized by chemical alterations in the brain, including the accumulation of abnormal excitotoxic proteins, varying degrees of inflammation, and metabolic disorders. This article aims to summarize current discoveries in the field of dementia and highlight the significance of molecular factors in its pathogenesis. Gaining insight into the pathogenic mechanisms of dementia may allow for faster diagnosis of the disease and facilitate the creation of more efficient patient care plans.

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Keywords:   Dementia, neurocognitive disorder, mental disorder, mental decay and deterioration

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest

 

This article belongs to the Special IssueThis article belongs to the Special Issue

                             Dementia in Neurological Disorders

Lead Editor:   

                             Prof. Jolanta Dorszewska, DSc, PhD
                             Laboratory of Neurobiology, Department of Neurology
                             Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poland
                             email: dorszewskaj@yahoo.com

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Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Neural Press.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the CC BY 4.0 license.

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Disclaimer: The statements, opinions, and data in the Journal of Multiscale Neuroscience are solely those of the individual authors and contributors, not those of the Neural Press™ or the editors(s).