Dementia due to metabolic causes

Disease	Injury	Nutrition	Poison

Special Topic	Surgery	Symptoms	Test

Central nervous system

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Dementia due to metabolic causes

Symptoms:

Slowly progressive loss of memory, judgment, or intellectual function
Personality changes
Decrease of movement, sensation, speech, hearing, vision, or other brain functions
Disorientation to person, place, or time
Language difficulties
Loss of bladder control

Note: Additional symptoms associated with the causative disorder may also be present.

Signs and tests:

A neurologic examination shows various abnormalities depending on the cause. Abnormal reflexes may be present.

Tests for suspected causes may include, but are not limited to:

Thyroid function tests
Blood glucose level, glucose tolerance tests
Blood chemistry, electrolytes
Liver function tests
Ammonia level in the blood
BUN, creatinine (to test for kidney disorders)
Nutritional assessment
B-12 level
Urinalysis
EEG, electroencephalograph
Head CT scan
Head MRI scan
Other tests, sometimes including lumbar puncture (spinal tap)

Review Date: 5/8/2003
Reviewed By: Elaine T. Kiriakopoulos, M.D., M.Sc., Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard University, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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