Sunday, December 1, 2013

Dementia: What Is Ahead For Us?

By Jack Morgan


With more than 5 million in the U.S and 800,000 people in the U.K currently living with dementia, perhaps it's surprising to find that studies directed towards dementia are massively under-funded. This disease is genetically complex, gradual in action and is irreversible in some cases. And the statistics are set to rise as days go by. So what about research and the future of dementia, does it mean there's nothing researchers in this field can do?

5 to 10 percent of dementia cases are recorded each year. There is no information showing the percentage of mild cognitive impairment and measurable decline in intellectual ability that contributes to 5 to 10 percent dementia cases in a year. The future of dementia research is driving towards determining mild clinical symptoms that contribute to full dementia.

There are current investigations going on to study problematic proteins and their response in people who suffer from dementia. Alzheimer or AD is thought to be triggered by the accumulation of certain proteins in the brain cells, and this leads to neurone dysfunction in people suffering from the condition. If researchers can find a way to prevent or stop the accumulation of this protein, it would be a great milestone towards controlling dementia.

Although Dementia disease is associated with the general impaired cognitive decline, some patients with this condition score high and do not show the general signs of low memory performance. However, researchers have determined that a big number of dementia patients always show correlated lopsidedness in the memory scores used for its study.

Dementia research experts have recommended that funding of research in the field of dementia must be maintained at 1,5 percent of the direct cost of the epidemic. While there has been significant investment in researches that deal with the anatomy of the disease, preceding researches have created an impetus for comprehensive enquiries into various facets of dementia service delivery as well as prevention. Part of the future researches to be conducted in dementia prevention should culminate in mapping out ways of implementing research findings towards curbing the pandemic and preventing its spread.

Again, it's very important to understand that dementia and Alzheimer diseases are two different conditions. Alzheimer causes dementia, which is characterized by symptoms such as loss in memory capabilities, interference with cognitive functions such as planning, organizing etc.

Furthermore, some researchers believe that a lot is known about Alzheimer's disease than what's known about dementia's causes or treatment. However, despite all that, clinical research on dementia d is giving researchers important clues and ideas about the possible causes and treatment for dementia.

Current dementia and Alzheimer management don't take into account the different categories of patients. Sometimes every patient has a unique mental condition and that will require custom management. Mental conditions worsen with age. Therefore, patients are not always of the same age and custom dementia management is justified.

Finally, it is said that some Australian researchers found a possible natural remedy for dementia. They discovered a natural substance in the body cells known as "Spermidine" which they say can aid in memory loss, which is a major concern for patients suffering from dementia. The concentration of spermidine decreases as one gets older. Spermidine was administered to specimen of mammals such as rats and mice because they have similar memory functions to human beings. So they're hoping that the results will be transferred to humans someday in the near future.




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