dementia
/dɪˈmɛnʃə
/noun [mass noun] Medicine
A chronic or persistent disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning.People with dementia have a degenerative disease of the brain for which there is no cure....
- They support people with conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
- Early-stage dementia or Alzheimer's disease may be associated with gluten antibodies.
Synonyms
mental illness, madness, insanity, derangement, lunacy;
senile dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Alzheimer's
informal softening of the brain
Origin
Late 18th century: from Latin, from demens, dement- 'out of one's mind'.