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Battling Alzheimer's disease
Absent-mindedness is common these days. With increased pressures and tensions of the day-to-day grind, it is not rare to find someone who forgets things. But it is the differentiation of the usual forgetfulness from chronic memory loss associated with dementia that proves tricky.
Especially when people try hard not to allow anything as simple as memory loss to be categorised as something more 'serious'. It is socially and emotionally unacceptable. Dementia, memory loss, Alzheimer's disease are all so much interrelated that it is difficult to draw a line except for clinical purposes, perhaps.
For clinical purposes irreversible dementia is categorised as Alzheimer's while dementia is described as loss of memory. But the general public at large is still unaware about these definitions and symptoms.
The Memory Clinic functioning at the Indira Gandhi Cooperative Hospital is involved in the efforts of the Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI) to address this issue.
Identifying people affected with dementia is one of the basic problems in society. This is one of the basic hurdles to be overcome, according to the volunteers of ARDSI. A helpline for ARDSI has been somewhat helpful to people, says another volunteer. The two mobile numbers - 9846198471 and 9846198786 - get queries from young people too who wonder whether they too have dementia.
Again age-related memory loss needs to be differentiated from severe cases of dementia. The Memory Clinic detects these patients through simple psychological and clinical tests initially.
Those who have managed to score less than a cut-off point in their Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE), after a clinical test, are put to another detailed test called Camdex (Cambridge Mental Disorder Examination for the Elders).
The MMSE gives an idea of cognitive impairment while the detailed test Camdex confirms the impairment. The tests are simple questions for an onlooker. Like writing or saying the day, date, month, remembering words and identifying objects of daily use etc.
Says Sreeja Bose, psychologist attached to ARDSI, there are people who have trouble saying these simple things, but they try to camouflage it. It is not intentional but an inherent habit they develop to cover up their inability. "They know that something is missing but they cannot identify what it is'', she adds.
ARDSI is planning to conduct a screening camp for dementia in the near future. Notices will be distributed at various places to promote awareness about the camp. A panel of doctors including a neurologist, a psychiatrist and a (geriatric) physician along with psychiatric social workers will identify the dementia affected people. This will be followed up with counselling for treatment and other community follow ups.
The Urban Community Dementia Services (UCDS) extended by ARDSI in Ernakulam has identified about 100 people with dementia out of 5000 elderly persons over the age of 65 from 13 divisions of the Kochi Corporation.
The UCDS day care centre has 12 patients who are picked up at 9 a.m and dropped home at 5 p.m. Apart from the day care service, UCDS offers home services too. A volunteer social worker along with a doctor visit the patients once a week or twice a week depending upon the need of the patient.
Providing income generating products and geriatric care items is part of a project taken up by ARDSI in association with Helpage India. The organisations would be distributing these to elderly persons affected with dementia and their care givers in West Kochi area on July 13 at the S. N.Auditorium, SDYP High School Complex, Veli, Palluruthy.
By Shyama Rajagopal
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Life
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