Defining Dementia
        Dementia is categorized as a neurodegenerative disease in which beta-amyloid plaques build up between synapses in brain cells, causing significant brain shrinkage as well as long-term memory loss. Severe memory loss tends to begin with forgetfulness at first, which then escalates into the common symptoms seen in dementia patients, such as general confusion, problems with communication, and an inability to solve logical problems. Other things involving neurological function will also begin to fail, such as sense of taste, touch, or hearing.

Sensory Degeneration in People Living with Dementia
        Sensory degeneration is not mutually exclusive to dementia. Other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease or Huntington’s disease may make patients display similar symptoms. Therefore, it may be difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of sensory degeneration if the common symptoms of dementia have not been displayed yet. The main reason dementia causes sensory degeneration is due to the fact that beta-amyloid plaque impedes the communication between neurons, which causes issues throughout the entire body. People living with this disease can be diagnosed up to 10-15 years with beta-amyloid buildup before being formally diagnosed with Alzheimer’s later in life. According to the National Library of Medicine, patients may show signs of “deposition of the Aβ [beta-amyloid] peptide, one of the key hallmarks of AD [Alzheimer’s disease] pathology, may first appear in sensory association areas, well before its appearance in regions involving memory…” (Albers et al. 1). Interestingly enough, this suggests that the senses are the first to fail before memory is ever even affected, which may be contrary to some known knowledge on dementia patients. If this is true, then it will be beneficial to observe these individuals closely, especially those with a history of neurodegenerative diseases in their family, to make sure their respective care companions can detect sensory degeneration symptoms quickly and get them diagnosed as soon as possible.

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The “Lonely Death” Phenomenon or Kodokushi
        Unfortunately, not everyone has a strong support system in place and many individuals–who usually tend to be in their older years–lose contact with their family after they are put in a nursing home or left to fend for themselves in a small apartment. This is especially noticeable in cultures that have a very rigorous work culture, which in turn leads to a decreased amount of contact between children/grandchildren and their parents/grandparents. A significant amount of studies have shown that loneliness and social isolation are linked to serious health conditions, specifically diseases of the heart or brain. Being alone significantly increases the risk of an older adult prematurely dying without explanation. Additionally, the risk of dementia is 50% greater in lonely adults than adults who do not feel alone. A possible explanation for this may be due to a substantial lack of verbal communication, which may degenerate the temporal and frontal lobe of the cerebrum over a long period of time without proper human-to-human contact.
        This brings us to a certain phenomenon that has been observed in Japan, specifically due to their work and social culture. Cases in which Japanese elderly had been found dead in their apartments alone had been documented since the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995. This tragic phenomenon was coined as kodokushi, translating literally to “lonely death”. These elderly individuals often had little to no familial connections, friends, or any meaningful relations in their last few years of life. In a particularly disturbing case, an elderly man of 60 years named Haruki Watanabe had been found dead in his apartment surrounded by his own waste and half-eaten food. This was suspected to have been a case of deliberate self-neglect, which could be classified as a type of suicide, but in a much more prolonged manner. He had been rotting in his apartment for nearly 3 months by the time he had been found. Nobody had thought to check up on him as his son hadn’t spoken to him in years (and had no intention to do so) and his body was eventually only found because of a tax collector attempting to collect rent from Watanabe (Bremner 1).
        Although this man did not die of dementia-related causes, (rather, he was found to have had heart disease before his passing) he was completely isolated from the outside world. A prime cause of dementia is the lack of cognitive stimulation, with lonely elderly individuals being especially susceptible to cognitive breakdown. Additionally, it is safe to assume that this man was most likely in a state of declining mental health. Therefore, he was even less likely to pick up a hobby that would force him to use fine- and gross-motor movements, which may have avoided the buildup of beta-amyloid plaque in his neurons’ synapses. Exercise is also another viable way to prevent cognitive breakdown; however, this man was living an incredibly sedentary lifestyle in his apartment and rarely left it to do anything other than to collect mail. This man died of his own accord as a method of suicide, but if he had lived on, he would have developed graver cognitive issues than just major depression.

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Possible Limitations of the Aforementioned Approach
        One major limitation of mere observation of sensory degeneration in people living with dementia is that, like mentioned before, not all sensory degeneration is a sign of dementia and may be an indication of a different degenerative disease that comes with old age. Wrongly diagnosing what disease a patient has may end with more damage being done than good because treatment for neurodegenerative diseases vary so greatly; it is entirely dependent on the severity of the condition as well as the patient’s overall health. However, there is another method that may be more inclusive of different neurodegenerative diseases, such as preventing loneliness in these people through visits from community members and administering psychiatric help to those who may be depressed. Hands-on activities that require many fine- and gross-motor movements can also encourage creativity and movement to prevent brain frailty or the further development of it.

Conclusion
        While sensory degeneration is something that naturally happens due to older age, it is important to focus on why exactly this occurs, rather than chalking it up to just “natural causes” that come with aging. Although neurodegenerative diseases are not expected to be completely cured in the coming years, allowing patients to have firsthand experience in dementia-preventative activities will benefit the elderly population immensely. I remember seeing the benefits myself. When I was about 8 years old, I knew an elderly woman at my church who was living with Alzheimer’s disease. She was the mother of the head pastor at our church and the grandmother of one of the missionaries there. I saw her granddaughter, Victoria, talking to her gently when she was confused or distressed. This calmed her down and allowed her to calmly keep talking with her as well as me. I strongly believe that exercising the same kind of meticulous patience will elicit this type of positive response on a more widespread level.
      Because our culture tends to forget the elderly, with many people treating them as people who are no longer of use to society, they are one of the most disadvantaged groups in modern communities. However, if we encourage healthy social behavior, creativity, activity (both mentally and physically), and mental health awareness to all corners of the community, it will not only benefit the elderly, but the rest of the community by extension as well.