Table 3. Reversible dementias.

Reversible dementia	Causes	Symptoms
Normal pressure Hydrocephalus	Referred to as “water on the brain.” – a condition where extra spinal fluid gets trapped in the brain.	Confusion & memory loss, urinary incontinence, balance and walking problems.
Nutritional Deficiencies/Vitamin B12 deficiency	Poor diets, other health problems such as pernicious anemia or Crohn's disease and older age cause reduced ability to absorb this vitamin.	Similar to Alzheimer's disease – memory loss, behavior changes, agitation.
Thiamine/ Wernicke/Korsakoff syndrome	Thiamine deficiency (Vitamin B1). It is often due to alcohol abuse.	Ataxia, muscle weakness, diminished/hyperactive reflexes, urinary or fecal incontinence, loss of vision.
Thyroid disorders	Hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.	Memory loss, difficulty finding the right word, concentrating, poor spatial organization and slower visual processing.
Sleep deficits	Chronic sleep deprivation causes memory and overall cognition to decline.	Significant impact on the ability to think or reason.
Brain lesions	Risk factors: radiation exposure, age, obesity, pesticide exposure and genetic factors.	Memory loss, poor judgment, personality changes, impulse control, headaches, seizures and hearing. Vision, speech and physical changes.
Delirium	Urinary Tract infection or pneumonia.	Increase in challenging behaviors, more lethargy, increased confusion
Subdural hematomas	It can develop from what is a minor bump on the head.	Confusion, lethargy, difficulty with speech and headaches
Depression/Mood changes	-	Symptoms are similar to early signs of dementia, memory loss and problems with word recall.
Medication reactions	Some medications cause cognitive issues: Cholesterol-lowering statins, Chemotherapy rugs, Pain medications, Anti-Anxiety medications and Sleeping pills.
Alcohol/Tobacco/Drug use	Cause of type of anemia.	Iron Deficiency
Dehydration	A person's awareness of thirst declines with age.
Anoxia/Hypoxia	A state of oxygen deprivation. Caused by a heart attack, monoxide poisoning or severe asthma.
Withdrawal from drugs	Discontinuing use of some prescriptions.	Confusion and disorientation.