Dementia: Early Detection and Risk Reduction
Introduction
There is currently no effective treatment for dementia. But there are opportunities to reduce the risk and slow down the progression of the disease if detected early.
The Fear of Dementia
The older we or our relatives get, the more we fear that we will be forgotten. And if in the days of youth it could be attributed to lack of sleep, inattention and laughter at the “girl’s memory” (short, of course !!!!), then with age the ghost of dementia looms more and more on the horizon. This is, in fact, a manifestation of the deterioration of the state of the brain, as the rate of deterioration of memory and mental abilities is accelerating and the ability to navigate in space, count, reason and speak is deteriorating.
Reducing the Risk and Slowing Down Progression
Russian psychiatrist Alexander Polikarpov told the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper: “Unfortunately, medicine is not yet able to effectively treat dementia. But there are ways to reduce the risk of its occurrence and slow down the progression of the disease if it is detected at an early stage.”
The Link with Sense of Smell
The psychiatrist pointed to the link between the quality of smell and the health of the brain. He said that the deterioration of the sense of smell can occur as one of the early signs of dementia. The doctor referred to the results of a recent study conducted by the American University of Chicago, which showed that in people predisposed to Alzheimer’s disease, as the most common type of dementia, the sense of smell works much worse in old age.
The Impact on Odor Recognition
It turned out that people over 69 years old, who had the gene variant associated with the highest risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, had an average sense of smell 37% worse.
According to the psychiatrist, with the development of dementia, which can be gradual and slow, the centers responsible for recognizing odors in the brain are affected. This damage is caused by the accumulation of a toxic protein (beta-amyloid) in the brain.
The Global Impact of Dementia
Remarkably, more than 50 million people worldwide suffered from dementia in 2020, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization. And the number of people diagnosed with dementia is increasing by 10 million every year. Experts predict that by 2030, 74.7 million people on Earth will suffer from dementia.
Source: Komsomolskaya Pravda
