The perception of the comic is a tie of sympathy with other men, a pledge of sanity, and a protection from those perverse tendencies and gloomy insanities in which fine intellects sometimes lose themselves. A rogue alive to the ludicrous is still convertible. If that sense is lost, his fellow-men can do little for him.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.

This famous comedic quotation, was uttered years before Emerson, lost his pledge of sanity to Dementia. Closely related to Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia is a serious cognitive disorder which affects an individual’s memory, language, and problem solving. Individuals of an elderly age can are more susceptible to the gradual six month on set of dementia. Although there may be symptoms within the first few months, it can actually not be diagnosed until the six month, in order to correctly diagnose the disorder. The symptoms an individual will experience are any of the following: depression, psychosis, memory failure, jaundice, muscle pain, and disorientation.

The actual term dementia, is a blanket term for several different forms of dementia.

1. Slowly Progressive Dementia: This form of dementia is a gradual progression over several years. It is caused by a neurodegenerative disease, which primarily affects and eliminates the functions of the neurons in the brain.

2. Rapid Progressive Dementia (a.k.a. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease): This rare form of dementia progresses through an individual’s system within, only a few weeks. There are several different causes of this form of dementia, such as, brain tumors, inflammations, infections, or drug toxicity.

3. Fixed Cognitive Impairment: Fixed Cognitive Impairment is caused by a single traumatic event to the brain (e.g. injury, concussion, seizure, stroke). Each one of these events does not cause dementia, but it leaves the brain susceptible to any other brain infections or disorders.

4. The Dementia Feature: Since the brain can succumb to several different diseases, infections, and disorder; dementia, is actually the symptom to several these (e.g. Alexander Disease, Canavan Disease, Kufs’ Disease, Krabbe’s Disease)