Dementia
Approximately 47.5 million people are dementia sufferers worldwide. Dementia is a frequent etiology of morbidity and mortality with the growing elderly population. This translates to a vast global economic impact. Risk factors of dementia include oxidative stress, infection, the accumulation of excessive protein deposits in the cerebrum, metal accumulation, and cholinesterase disorders. The bulk of dementias affecting the elderly population are due to Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, ischemic brain injury, and normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). Among the long list of etiologies of dementia, only a few are reversible and treatable. Among the treatable causes, NPH-induced dementia is surgically treatable. In this chapter, avery short discussion and differentiation of common causes of dementia are provided. Surgical management of NPH is discussed in the later part of the chapter.
