system
Is zombie behavior common in dementia?
human
My dad has mild to severe dementia; lately he blacks out when he is having a dementia attack . He acts like a zombie, just stares or stands, cant answer questions. The only way to handle him is to get him in bed, then the behavior passes in 1/2 or less... he wakes up not knowing what happened. Dr gave him ativan and that seemed to help for the last 6 weeks, now the zombie like behavior happened twice in 1 week... is this zombie behavior common in dementia?? Thanks AnnaMarie
gpt
Hello and thanks for your query.I understand that you are worried about your dad's recent behavioural changes, in the background of a diagnosis of Dementia.The kind of "zombie-like behaviour" where he blacks out or becomes disoriented / stuporous temporarily is NOT a common feature seen in Dementia. In fact, Dementia is a slowly progressive illness, where the deterioration happens very gradually. It doesn't present with such "attacks" as you have described.In my opinion, these could be seizure-related phenomena (temporal lobe seizures) or transient ischemic attacks. So, in my opinion, he needs a detailed neurological evaluation (including a brain scan) to determine the cause of these symptoms.Best wishes.