Expert reveals mystifying reason a third of dementia patients regain 'lost' ... trends now
Experts have identified a fascinating feature of dementia, which can often give loved-ones false hope that the person's memory is improving.
They've found that around a third of dementia patients experience remarkable moments of lucidity that begin in their final few days of life.
The phenomenon, called terminal lucidity, sees the dementia patient sudden able to remember people’s names, loved one’s faces, and inside jokes.
And doctors say they often have to manage the family's expectations, as they see the sudden change as a sign their loved-one is improving.
Terminal lucidity is not well-studied or well-understood, however doctors believe it represents part of the brain’s last-ditch effort to keep itself alive while other physiological processes slow or stop.
The final bout of lucidity can be distressing for the patient's loved ones who may experience a false glimmer of hope that they will recover to their old selves
Dementia is a chronic, unstoppable disease, but the brief bouts of lucidity turn that standard orthodoxy on its head, with some doctors optimistic that this indicates the condition could, in fact, be reversed.
Dr Sam Parnia, a critical care physician at NYU Langone Health, said: ‘When you die, your brain is deprived of oxygen and nutrients, so it shuts down.
‘This shutting down process takes away the brakes…, and suddenly what seems to be happening is that it gives you access to parts of your brain that you normally can’t access.’
Normally, the ‘brakes’ allow us to filter out irrelevant information to help us carry out normal daily tasks.
But when the brain is deprived of oxygen, those inhibitory mechanisms weaken, and suddenly, people with dementia may have unfettered access to parts of their brains previously off limits.
Julie McFadden, a hospice nurse, said: ‘Sometimes we call it the surge, or the rally. It happens in about one-third of all dying patients.
‘It’s just like it sounds. [Patients] have been really bad, going downhill, it looks like they’re going to die. And suddenly they get better… they start talking,
