Pat Summit Diagnosed with Dementia

#26
#26
I've seen this disease up close and it can be horrific! Pat Summit imo, regardless of sport or gender is one of the greatest coaches in the history of college or pro sports!! I hope she gets the greatest treatment available and has many years left ahead of her!! This is a sad day for everything that is UT!! No one more VFL imho!! T&P CPS!!!
 
#28
#28
Absolutely, positively terrible news.

I have been worthless for the past hour since reading it.

Prayers for Coach Summitt.
 
#29
#29
Sad, sad day. Puts things in perspective. Curious to see how many former players will attend. No doubt it wll be a packed house at the press conference.
 
#30
#30
could someone with a bit of insight on this disease/illness fill the rest of us in. Excuse my ignorance.
 
#32
#32
Dementia better look out. This horrible disease has beaten everyone down; but it's never had to fight someone like Pat Summitt.
 
#33
#33
My mom emailed me about this a little bit ago. Hopefully they caught it early and can get her on something like Exelon to help the problem.
 
#35
#35
could someone with a bit of insight on this disease/illness fill the rest of us in. Excuse my ignorance.

Pretty similar to Alzheimer's. Slow but gradual loss of memory. My grandmother had it, and most days would only really remember things from her childhood. Called my dad by on of her brothers' name for the last two years she was alive.
 
#36
#36
Omg awful, horrible news. Speechless. Prayers to you, your family, and team. May God be with you through this.
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#37
#37
Maybe they caught it extremely early. I cannot remember anyone diagnosed that young with dementia.

Even if it was called extremely early, it is still a progressive disease. I just pray that they can have medications that will At least slow the progression to keep her functional as possible for as long as possible
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#38
#38
Very sad for her and her family


Also means there's about a 70-80% chance that this symptom (dementia is a symptom of something going on in the brain, not a disease or cause itself) will later be revealed to be /develop into AlzheimerÂ’s disease (AD)....which is a very nasty disease
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#39
#39
I am curious to know what her early signs and symptoms were for her to go get checked out.
 
#41
#41
Pretty similar to Alzheimer's. Slow but gradual loss of memory. My grandmother had it, and most days would only really remember things from her childhood. Called my dad by on of her brothers' name for the last two years she was alive.

My ex wife's grandmother had it and towards the end it was so sad. She totally lost her mind, seeing things that were not there and yelling and screaming for people to help her, thought people were after her to harm her, extremely horrific disease!!
 
#42
#42
Pretty similar to Alzheimer's. Slow but gradual loss of memory. My grandmother had it, and most days would only really remember things from her childhood. Called my dad by on of her brothers' name for the last two years she was alive.

It's, very unfortunately, more likely that the dementia's actually caused by the development of alzheimer's (dementia itself is really a more modern day term for senility).....if so though it won't show itself until a few to several years later
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#44
#44
I am curious to know what her early signs and symptoms were for her to go get checked out.

Totally guessing here but maybe shes been very forgetful lately and a friend or family member seen signs and told her she needed to be checked. Maybe headaches, really hard to know. I feel so bad for her!!!
 
#46
#46
Even if it was called extremely early, it is still a progressive disease. I just pray that they can have medications that will At least slow the progression to keep her functional as possible for as long as possible
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I know it is progressive because my grandmother passed away from this horrible disease 6 years ago. But like you said if they diagnose it early that can give her a better chance to live a full life for a longer period of time.
 
#47
#47
Prayers for CPS and family. This a family fight. And she has a vast extended family. VFL
 
#49
#49
Here's somewhat of a read for people wishing for some more understanding:

What’s the Difference Between Alzheimer’s and Dementia?

In a nutshell, dementia is a symptom, and AD is the cause of the symptom. When someone is told they have dementia, it means that they have significant memory problems as well as other cognitive difficulties, and that these problems are severe enough to get in the way of daily living.....

Too often, patients and their family members are told by their doctors that the patient has been diagnosed with “a little bit of dementia.” They leave the doctor’s visit with a feeling of relief that at least they don’t have Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

There is great confusion about the difference between “dementia” and “AD.” The confusion is felt on the part of patients, family members, the media, and even healthcare providers. This article provides information to reduce the confusion by defining and describing these two common and often poorly understood terms.

What is the difference between Alzheimer's disease and dementia?

“Dementia” is a term that has replaced a more out-of-date word, “senility,” to refer to cognitive changes with advanced age.

Dementia includes a group of symptoms, the most prominent of which is memory difficulty with additional problems in at least one other area of cognitive functioning, including language, attention, problem solving, spatial skills, judgment, planning, or organization. These cognitive problems are a noticeable change compared to the person’s cognitive functioning earlier in life and are severe enough to get in the way of normal daily living, such as social and occupational activities.

A good analogy to the term dementia is “fever.” Fever refers to an elevated temperature, indicating that a person is sick. But it does not give any information about what is causing the sickness. In the same way, dementia means that there is something wrong with a person’s brain, but it does not provide any information about what is causing the memory or cognitive difficulties. Dementia is not a disease; it is the clinical presentation or symptoms of a disease.

There are many possible causes of dementia. Some causes are reversible, such as certain thyroid conditions or vitamin deficiencies. If these underlying problems are identified and treated, then the dementia reverses and the person can return to normal functioning.

However, most causes of dementia are not reversible. Rather, they are degenerative diseases of the brain that get worse over time. The most common cause of dementia is AD, accounting for as many as 70-80% of all cases of dementia.

Approximately 5.3 million Americans currently live with AD. As people get older, the prevalence of AD increases, with approximately 50% of people age 85 and older having the disease.

It is important to note, however, that although AD is extremely common in later years of life, it is not part of normal aging. For that matter, dementia is not part of normal aging. If someone has dementia (due to whatever underlying cause), it represents an important problem in need of appropriate diagnosis and treatment by a well-trained healthcare provider who specializes in degenerative
diseases.

In a nutshell, dementia is a symptom, and AD is the cause of the symptom.

When someone is told they have dementia, it means that they have significant memory problems as well as other cognitive difficulties, and that these problems are severe enough to get in the way of daily living.

Most of the time, dementia is caused by the specific brain disease, AD. However, some uncommon degenerative causes of dementia include vascular dementia (also referred to as multi-infarct dementia), frontotemporal dementia, Lewy Body disease, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Contrary to what some people may think, dementia is not a less severe problem, with AD being a more severe problem. There is not a continuum with dementia on one side and AD at the extreme. Rather, there can be early or mild stages of AD, which then progress to moderate and severe stages of the disease.

One reason for the confusion about dementia and AD is that it is not possible to diagnose AD with 100% accuracy while someone is alive. Rather, AD can only truly be diagnosed after death, upon autopsy when the brain tissue is carefully examined by a specialized doctor referred to as a neuropathologist.

During life, a patient can be diagnosed with “probable AD.” This term is used by doctors and researchers to indicate that, based on the person’s symptoms, the course of the symptoms, and the results of various tests, it is very likely that the person will show pathological features of AD when the brain tissue is examined following death.

In specialty memory clinics and research programs, such as the BU ADC, the accuracy of a probable AD diagnosis can be excellent. And with the results of exciting new research, such as that being conducted at the BU ADC, the accuracy of AD diagnosis during life is getting better and better.
 

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