Dementia

Subject : Science and technology

Section :Health

Concept :

About Dementia

It is a syndrome – usually of a chronic or progressive nature – that leads to deterioration in cognitive function (i.e. the ability to process thought) beyond what might be expected from the usual consequences of biological ageing.
Although dementia mainly affects older people, it is not an inevitable consequence of ageing.
Currently, more than 55 million people live with dementia worldwide, and there are nearly 10 million new cases every year.
Dementia results from a variety of diseases and injuries that primarily or secondarily affect the brain.
When brain cells are damaged then dementia may occur. It can be caused by a head injury, a stroke, a brain tumour or due to HIV infection.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and may contribute to 60-70% of cases.
It affects memory, thinking, orientation, comprehension, calculation, learning capacity, language, and judgement.

Symptoms:

Memory loss, Difficulties with thinking, Visual perception, Self-management, Problem solving or language and the ability to focus and pay attention.
Personality changes, like depression, agitation, paranoia, and mood swings.
Consciousness is not affected.

Impacts:

It has significant social and economic implications in terms of direct medical and social care costs, and the costs of informal care.
There is often a lack of awareness and understanding of dementia, resulting in stigmatization and barriers to diagnosis and care.

Treatment and care:

There is currently no treatment available to cure dementia.
Anti-dementia medicines and disease-modifying therapies developed to date have limited efficacy and are primarily labelled for Alzheimer’s disease, though numerous new treatments are being investigated in various stages of clinical trials.

Global response:

WHO recognizes dementia as a public health priority.
In May 2017, the World Health Assembly endorsed the Global action plan on the public health response to dementia 2017-2025.
Global Dementia Observatory:
It is an international surveillance platform to facilitate monitoring and sharing of information on dementia policies, service delivery, epidemiology and research.