The Hindu : Dementia, a threat looming large

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 16, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Dementia, a threat looming large

By Our Staff Reporter

Venu Srinivasan, Chairman of TVS Motors, presenting a citation to Jeffrey Cummings, Director of UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Centre (U.S.), at the T.S. Srinivasan Endowment Oration in Chennai on Saturday. With them are: the Chairman of the T.S. Srinivasan Institute of Neurological Science and Research, Krishnamoorthy Srinivas and industrialist T.T. Vasu.

CHENNAI FEB. 15. Is dementia important in India? Considering that this fatal memory and cognitive impairment disease of the elderly is projected to affect about four million Indians by 2025, it is. Medical practitioners and researchers in the country should hence give more thrust to research and wholesome treatment of dementia, the director of the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Centre, (U.S.), Jeffrey L. Cummings, said here today.

According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) 1998 report cited by Prof. Cummings while delivering the 23rd T.S. Srinivasan Endowment Oration on "Dementia: From Science to Patient", about 110 million people in India would be above 65 years by 2025, and about 50 million by 2050. Citing another study done in Chennai on the prevalence of dementia, and comparing it with the WHO report, he projected that the number of elderly people with dementia in India would reach four million by 2025. "The predicted growth of the number of demented patients in India makes it an urgent public health concern," he said.

Differentiating between memory loss in the normal ageing process and dementia, he pointed out that the latter was usually caused by Alzheimer's disease or stroke-related cognitive impairment. According to the Chennai study, about half of the victims suffered dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease. In the other cases, dementia was caused by stroke or various other infectious brain diseases.

In Alzheimer's related dementia, patients usually suffer from depression, anxiety, apathy, aggression, irritability and delusions and a variety of behaviour loss syndromes.

Elaborating on various research initiatives in treating dementia, Prof. Cummings stressed that while its treatment would have to be cause-specific, treatment of the behavioural syndromes was possible, at least to an extent that stress on both patients and caretakers could be reduced.

On yoga, the chairman of the T.S. Srinivasan Institute of Neurological Science and Research, Krishnamoorthy Srinivas, said the Indian practice was "extremely good, because it relaxes the mind, though the role of yoga in treating dementia is not clear."

The chairman of the Public Health and Welfare Society, Chennai, T.T. Vasu, delivered the presidential address and the chairman of TVS Motors, Venu Srinivasan, presented a memento to Prof. Cummnigs.

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