Delirium Superimposed Upon Dementia

Like the ouroboros, the snake eating another snake which is, in turn, eating the first snake, and also sometimes portrayed as a single snake eating its own tail, so delirium and dementia feed off each other. Delirium leads to dementia and dementia leads to delirium, in a downward spiral of worsening cognitive and physical function, such that it is, at times, hard to separate them and, as the 2 snakes swallow each other, they become one.

Source: Journal of the American Medical Directors Association - October 31, 2019 Category: Health Management Authors: Gideon A. Caplan Tags: Editorial Source Type: research