Dementia
When the kidney fails it is called "Renal Failure", when the heart fails it is "Congestive heart failure". In the same way when the brain fails it is called dementia. One of common early symptoms is a failing memory.
The two major causes of dementia are Alzheimer's dementia and multi-infarct dementia. In any given patient with dementia a lot of effort is spent in finding out treatable causes of dementia. The more abnormalities are found, the higher is the probability of a good outcome.
Care of a patient with dementia often poses significant emotional stress on the caregivers that should be recognized and appropriately attended.
Here are few links of interest:
