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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Free screening to detect Alzheimer's early -Jayashree Nandi

Free screening to detect Alzheimer's early -Jayashree Nandi

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published Published on Jun 18, 2013   modified Modified on Jun 18, 2013
-The Times of India


NEW DELHI: Alzheimer's disease, which is the cause of dementia in a large number of people, can be a very difficult journey not only for the patient but also for the caregiver. Shivani Roy's grandfather, who suffered Alzheimer's for over a decade, left his house in January 2001 never to return. The family tried its best but couldn't locate him.

Getting lost in the city is a common phenomenon among Alzheimer's patients but it can be checked with intensive monitoring. "Memory loss is not the worst part. We had hired an attendant to look after him and follow him on his long and frequent walks. But accompanying the memory loss are drastic changes in the individual's behaviour patterns. My grandfather used to fly into bouts of rage against us, the domestic help and even the neighbours," says Shivani. "When he came to live with us, he was already in an advanced stage. We couldn't get him to a hospital but brought the doctor home and pretended he was a family friend," she adds. It's important not to dismiss symptoms of forgetfulness or confuse it with an usual geriatric problem, explains Shivani.

The Alzheimer's Society has around 800 patients enrolled with it. "We don't have an exact number but we assume there are around 25,000 to 30,000 people with Alzheimer's disease in Delhi," says Col V K Khanna, who heads the Society's Delhi chapter.

The National Brain Research Centre (NBRC) has recently started a research project that can predict a person's predisposition to Alzheimer's disease. It conducts imaging to find out the chemical changes in the hippocampus of the brain to determine whether a person may develop Alzheimer's. In the past two years, 250 have been screened for the disease and over 100 of them had early stages of Alzheimer's disease. The youngest person to have symptoms of Alzheimer's at the NBRC screening was 39 years old.

While there is no certain cure for the disease, Pravat Mandal of NBRC and associate professor of radiology at John's Hopkins School Medicine says early detection can help control or manage the disease better. "I want more and more people to get this screening done. While it helps us with our current research of understanding Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and dementia which have similar impact on the brain, it will also help people take precautions. The Magnetic Resonance Imaging test is done free of cost here," says Mandal.

The result of the MRI scan shows whether a brain is more alkaline in nature which is a risk factor for the disease.

Surprisingly, Mandal says, the incidence of Alzheimer's is not just increasing because of longevity of people but also because of 'oxidative stress' in the brain. The Merriam-Webstar dictionary defines oxidative stress as "physiological stress on the body that is caused by the cumulative damage done by free radicals inadequately neutralized by antioxidants".

"Oxidative stress is a very important risk factor. So are social and economical problems that a person faces," adds Mandal. Once a person is found to have risk factors, Dr Mandal refers him to a neurologist who prescribes medication to slow down the progress of the disease.

For the elderly, early symptoms are often dismissed as signs of old age, hence care givers, friends and family members should be especially careful to respond promptly should they spot them in the behaviour of their loved ones.


The Times of India, 18 June, 2013, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Free-screening-to-detect-Alzheimers-early/articleshow/20640049.cms


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