Dementia 2: new approaches to understanding dementia

Improving understanding of brain disorders seems set to become one of the core applications of physiological research in the 21st century. Cognitive impairment and Dementia are not restricted to older people, but disorders that cause dementia tend to occur in later life so this article explores some of the emerging new insight to underlying pathophysiological processes. Although it is not yet clear whether dementia is the result of accelerated ageing of the brain or separate disease processes, new perspective can be applied to help to explain neurodegeneration in the most common forms of dementia. Better understanding of these mechanisms can help nurses to consider their contribution to behaviours of those who are living with the disease.