Posted by SLS on September 24, 2011, at 15:21:09
Yes.
If we look up the word "dementia", we see that its use is not reserved for Alzheimer's Dementia. It is a generic term describing cognitive deficits and altered mental states.
-----------------------------------------------
de·men·tia (d-mnsh)
n.
1. Deterioration of intellectual faculties, such as memory, concentration, and judgment, resulting from an organic disease or a disorder of the brain. It is sometimes accompanied by emotional disturbance and personality changes
-----------------------------------------------
Based on this definition, should we not apply the word "dementia" to describe some of the symptoms of MDD? I have seen it used this way only rarely in the medical literature. However, I use it often when I describe my affective disorder to others. It helps drive home the seriousness of these disorders.
- Scott
Some see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:997761
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110914/msgs/997761.html