E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, SEP 22 -

Dr Dhruba Man Shrestha, a psychiatrist and professor at Nepal Medical College, on a regularly basis, deals with the elderly patients, whom the family members complain of going insane. On the World Alzheimer's Day 2011, which is observed worldwide on September 21, Shrestha said that there is a common fallacy harboured by the family of elderly persons who have crossed 65.

“The symptoms developed by such elderly persons are commonly misunderstood as madness,” Shrestha said. “However, it can be dementia, a common mental problem among the senior citizens and it needs better diagnosis and proper care.” Shrestha added that all cases of dementia necessarily don't mean Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia, a brain disease, which often starts with memory problems, but goes on to affect many other parts of the brain. Its symptoms includes loss of memory, difficulty in finding the right words or understanding what people are saying, difficulty in performing previously routine tasks, personality and mood changes, among others.

Though there has not been any survey about the people living with Alzheimer's disease in Nepal, the World Alzheimer Report 2009, a groundbreaking report about Alzheimer's disease, released by Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) estimated that 36 million people worldwide are living with dementia, with numbers doubling every 20 years to 66 million by 2030 and 115 million by 2050. The report had found that much of this increase in dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease, to be in low and middle-income countries; 58 percent of those with dementia currently live in low and middle-income countries, rising to 71percent by 2050. Another World Alzheimer Report 2011 has shown that most people currently living with dementia have not received a formal diagnosis. The report read that in the high-income countries, only 20-50 percent of dementia cases are recognised and documented in primary care. This 'treatment gap' is certainly much greater in low and middle-income countries, with one study in India suggesting 90 percent remain unidentified. If these statistics are extrapolated to countries worldwide, it suggests that approximately 28 million of the 36 million people with dementia have not received diagnosis, and therefore do not have access to treatment, care and organised support that getting a formal diagnosis can provide. Moreover, the case of Nepal is no different, says experts.

“Even the urban educated population don't accept Alzheimer's disease as a disease but as a normal old age phenomenon,” Jagannath Lamichhane, a mental health rights activist, said. “The state too has neglected on this issue. The elderly population, too, has a right to live a dignified life for which the state should train a special manpower to care and support the people living with Alzheimer's disease.” 

Posted on: 2011-09-22 09:11

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