Dementia
- January 30, 2023
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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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.