Identify dementia symptoms early

BANGALORE: Padma, an Alzheimer''s victim, complains about being denied food regularly, immediately after breakfast. She walks into the kitchen to answer nature''s call, forgetting the way to the bathroom. She also tears her own clothes.
Sometimes, she walks away from her daughter''s house in Indiranagar where she currently stays and sits in the nearby Domlur bus stop.
She never forgets the shlokas she learnt as a child but is unsure about the number of children she has. The 60-year-old even suspects that psychiatrist Dr Ajith Bhide, whom her daughter takes her to, could be working against her. On Saturday, her agony will continue to be the same.
Each year, September 21 is observed as World Alzheimer''s Day, a day on which Alzheimer''s associations concentrate their efforts on raising awareness about dementia. Alzheimer''s Disease is the most common cause of dementia. Dementia is a collective name for progressive degenerative brain syndrome which affects memory, thinking, behaviour and emotion.
This year, World Alzheimer''s Day focuses on the importance of recognising the early symptoms of dementia.
Every Saturday, starting at 2 pm, Nimhans runs a clinic (6995547/8) for the benefit of Alzheimer''s patients. Says Dr Mathew Varghese, additional professor, "Every week, we get at least four new patients and eight old patients. It''s a disease that gets commoner after 65 years."
Dr Kalyana Sundaram, consultant psychiatrist and secretary of The Richmond Fellowship Society for Community Mental Health, says, "Alzheimer''s does not affect just the individual but also the care givers." As understood earlier, it is not a problem of memory loss alone and comes with behavioural problems like suspicion, irritation and a cognitive decline in general.
Sujatha Bhat of Asha Jeevan, a senior citizens'' home with 32 inmates, says seven of them suffer from dementia and five of the elders have Alzheimer''s. "Taking them to a psychiatrist is a must. When a person who has lead a dignified life walks around without clothes, it''s not something anybody can digest." The home also conducts programmes to help the family members of the patient to handle Alzheimer''s better.
Novartis India, a pharmaceutical company which has majored in drugs for Alzheimer''s, has organised a walk for elders from Vidhana Soudha at 10.15 am on Saturday.
EARLY SYMPTOMS OF DEMENTIA
* Memory loss
* Difficulty performing familiar tasks
* Problems with language
* Disorientation towards time and place
* Poor or decreased judgement
* Problems keeping track of things
* Misplacing things
* Changes in mood or behaviour
* Changes in personality
* Loss of initiative
TREATMENT
There is no cure for Alzheimer''s Disease. In the early stages of demntia, it is possible to improve memory with medication. When the brain lacks in Acetyle Choline, it results in memory loss. A group of drugs called Cholinesterase Inhibitors delays the progression of the problem.