Patients may have cognitive slowing and personality changes. Levels of Vitamin B12 can be checked in the blood, and if the levels are low, the vitamin can be replaced on a regular basis. Sometimes a folic acid deficiency can cause cognitive symptoms that seem like a mild dementia. Back to Top Hypothyroidism Hypothyroidism is a condition that results from low levels of thyroid secretion. Thyroid function tests should be obtained in any patient who has symptoms consistent with a dementia.
Patients often appear very slow to answer questions, and have difficulty processing information.
Thyroid function can be normalized with use of the appropriate dose of thyroid hormone replacement. Hypoglycemia Hypoglycemia is a condition that results from low blood sugar. Some patients with diabetes that overcorrect elevations of high blood sugar with medication and have chronically low levels of blood glucose can suffer cognitive changes due to damage in susceptible parts of the brain. In some parts of the world, the AIDS dementia complex, which is caused by HIV infection in the central nervous system, is the most common cause of dementia in young people. HIV infection is the most common cause of nontreatable infectious dementia.