Forget Me Not……World Alzheimer's Day 21 September 2021

Dr Mangala Borkar, Prof Geriatrics, GMC, Aurangabad

The ability to forget pain, loss or adversities is a boon. However, if forgetfulness increases so much that it interferes with day to day living and causes distress to the family, puts the person at risk to himself and others -- it is no doubt a bane. Many elders suffer from acceptable memory loss due to aging but some develop severe dementia.

Dedicated care homes needed

-Malati Karandikar, Director, Mukti Sopan Nyas (Elder Care Home)

*Patients of dementia are very difficult to manage at home and cause a lot of disturbance in the lives of family members.

*Can lead to serious stress in caregivers.

*They forget that they have had meals or bathed or given medicines and complain or accuse relatives wrongly.

*They have wandering tendencies, forget their address and face the risk of accident.

*It is necessary to have special affordable set-ups to keep dementia patients.

Take care

-Dr Rahul Wahutale, Neurologist

*In Alzheimer’s, there is a slow, progressive decline of brain function, as cells gradually die and are replaced by tangles of tau protein.

*Symptoms: Memory loss, more for recent events, repeating same questions, difficult in planning or completing familiar tasks like house work, difficulty in falling asleep, concentration. Often have depression and lack of interest.

*Treatment: Look for treatable causes, counsel the family to look after the caregiver and share responsibilities. See that patient gets some exercise, and adequate rest.

*Do not isolate, keep in touch with friends, ask for help. Relatives should keep realistic expectations.

Tender attitude, patience needed

Dr Prasad Deshpande, Professor and Head, Psychiatry, GMC Aurangabad.

*It is quite a common sight nowadays to witness elders with gradually deteriorating cognitive, intellectual functions and fading memories. Alzheimer’s dementia is a gradual onset neurodegenerative condition.

*It usually comes to attention of family members first, instead of the sufferer. Often the relatives notice that the sufferer is no longer as sharp in his/her grasp about situations, is forgetting things and has difficulties with being able to take care of self.

*Often, the patient forgets that he had food. Losing way in reaching home is a frequently reported observation. As the condition worsens, patient develops emotional imbalance, incontinence, speech, agitation and outbursts of anger. The sufferer needs to be taken care of like a baby.

*Counselling is important. Anti-dementia medications, psychotropics for behaviour disturbances should be supervised by an expert. Vitamins, dietary supplements and medical treatment for specific conditions are necessary. Tender loving care and dignified death, whenever it happens, are vital aspects.

PET scan helps in diagnosis

-Dr Mukta Kulkarni

*Diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) clinically is challenging, as the clinical symptoms of different types of dementia often overlap. FDG Positron emission tomography – computed tomography (PET CT) scan is a promising neuroimaging tool in the diagnosis of AD. It reflects rate of glucose metabolic activity of brain, which is an indirect indicator of brain cell activity. The characteristic patterns of decreased glucose metabolism in brain can help in differentiating Alzheimer’s disease from other dementia. Changes in brain metabolism precede the clinical manifestations of AD. Hence, FDG PET CT has an important role in early diagnosis.