World Alzheimers Day - 21st September

World Alzheimers Day - 21^st September

1. What is Alzheimer's?

Alzheimer's disease is a brain disorder named after German physician Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906. Scientists have learned a great deal about Alzheimer's disease in the century since Dr. Alzheimer first drew attention to it.

Today we know that Alzheimer's:

• Is a common and serious brain disease. More than 5 million Americans now have Alzheimer's. Although symptoms can vary widely, the first problem many people notice is forgetfulness severe enough to affect their work, lifelong hobbies or social life.
• Gets worse over time. As the disease progresses, other symptoms include confusion, trouble with organizing and expressing thoughts, misplacing things, getting lost in familiar places, and changes in personality and behavior.
• Is the most common form of dementia, a general term for the loss of memory and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Vascular dementia, another common type, is caused by reduced blood flow to parts of the brain. In mixed dementia, Alzheimer's and vascular dementia occur together.
• Has no current cure. But treatments for symptoms, combined with the right services and support, can make life better for the millions of Americans living with Alzheimer's. We've learned most of what we know about Alzheimer's in the last 15 years. There is an accelerating worldwide effort under way to find better ways to treat the disease, delay its onset, or prevent it from developing.

2. Why was 21st September selected as World Alzheimer's Day?

World Alzheimer's Day was launched at the opening of ADI's annual conference in Edinburgh on 21 September 1994 to celebrate our 10th anniversary.


3. There are so many international days. What do they achieve?

World Alzheimer's Day is a day that unites opinion leaders, people with dementia, their carers and family, medical professionals, researchers and the media from all around the world.

Having a globally co-ordinated awareness day sends a strong message to governments and policy makers alerting them of the fact that dementia is a serious health issue which will have serious implications on services and health systems around the world as the world's population grows older. In addition, by focusing on a different message each year, the day can be used to educate and challenge people's misconceptions about dementia.

http://www.yourgenesyourhealth.org/alz/whatisit.htm Your Genes, Your Health, DNA Learning Center's multimedia guide to genetic, inherited disorders: Alzheimer disease, genetic disorder, autosomal dominant

 

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Dr Marwah