Forget them not
Memories are what feed our individuality; echoes of a past that give meaning to our present. On World Alzheimer's Day, Stanley Borg fears for those who suffer from a disease that seems like death in slow motion; a long goodbye
These are my worst nights. Worse than that night, three years ago, when I got totally wasted on double-strength Cosmopolitans in a Pat Pong club, lost my dignity and pride, and rode back to my hotel with a taxi driver whom I thought was looking at my kidneys with too fond a look. Or the night when I got lost in a Chinese market in the Shanghai suburbs and was befriended by Ping Pong (that's what his name sounded like), and who in the spirit of hospitality, brought me food that looked like something I might bring up rather than take in.
But in comparison, it is these nights that are the pits; nights when I wake up on the sofa (a diet of late night telly and tubs, and I mean whole, family-sized tubs of ice cream does not help), in the middle of the night, so startled that I cannot remember where or who I am, and what I am doing. I always regain a sense of location and purpose, but for that eternity of seconds, the big ice cube of silence in the middle of my head, where my memories should be, is frightening.
In an age where every moment is captured and backed-up on pen drives, digital cameras and mobile phones, and where technological advance is calculated by how able we are in storing the largest amount of data in the smallest of spaces, the briefest loss of memory is a dire prospect. Which explains why Alzheimer's is such a terrible disease; one which causes people to lose their memories of you, and you to lose the people you know.
Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for about 60 per cent of cases. Dementia is the umbrella term for progressive degenerative brain diseases which cause impairment of brain function, leading to loss of memory and personality changes, and which affect thinking, behaviour and emotion.
Dementia is a progressive disease. In the earlier stages, there is only short-term memory loss. People suffering from dementia would not remember what they have eaten two hours before, but would still remember the past in detail. They would still remember facts associated with what they have forgotten. For instance, they would not remember a friend's name, but would still recall details of past conversations with the same friend.
As the disease progresses, more nerve cells die in particular regions of the brain. The latter shrinks and gaps develop in the temporal lobe, an area responsible for storing and recalling new information. Consequently, patients move further into the past, which leads to a situation where they would believe themselves younger or do not recognise friends and relatives.
As Alzheimer's continues its destructive march, patients lose every orientation to time and place. They forget familiar faces. They fall, get lost on their way home, cannot calculate distances, misplace things, fail to do any complicated movements and do unpredictable things. They lose all initiative and interest, spending hours staring at the television. They are unable to care for themselves, and daily familiar routines like eating, washing and dressing become an excessive demand on their abilities. Language competences also suffer. Patients forget simple words, and their speech and writing become hard to understand.
What is also hard to understand is the disease itself. Alzheimer's is still a mystery disease. Attempts to find a cure have failed and researchers can only suggest risk factors that can be linked to its development. When these factors are present, there is an increased chance, but not certainty, of the outset of Alzheimer's. Some risk factors, such as education and alcohol consumption, can be reduced while others, such as head injury and family background, cannot.
According to a study by the Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry journal, people who are lonely in their old age are also more likely to succumb to Alzheimer's than those who lead an active social life. In recent years, obesity was also included as a risk factor, with evidence suggesting that as more people become obese, so are Alzheimer's figures on the increase. What is also worrying is the surge in childhood obesity, which could mean that in the long term, it could hike up the numbers of Alzheimer's and dementia sufferers. Knowing the causes of Alzheimer's could lead to anticipate and prevent risk factors. The UK Alzheimer's Society, for instance, calls for more attention to a healthier lifestyle and slimmer waistlines in order to limit the risk of Alzheimer's. Studies conducted by the same society together with the British Heart Foundation and the Stroke Association show that exercise could deter the risk of dementia by 30 to 40 per cent. Reducing blood pressure is also conductive to preventing dementia, as is a Mediterranean diet and diets that are rich in Vitamin C.
Until a cure for Alzheimer's is found, some 26 million worldwide continue to suffer from dementia, with 4.7 million sufferers from within the European Union. In the UK alone, more than 700,000 people have dementia, while in Malta, it is calculated that, in 2005 some 4,072 people suffer from dementia.
Prospects are dire. As we live longer, figures are expected to rise. It is predicted that by 2050, the number affected is set to quadruple. In Asia, prevalence will rise from 12.65 million to 62.85 million. Worldwide, one in 85 persons will have Alzheimer's disease, with the total number of people suffering from dementia growing to more than 106 million. About half of these will need high-level care. With such a major epidemic looming, it is essential to have a strong strategy that identifies more risk factors, and more importantly, to find a cure for Alzheimer's and dementia.
• To mark World Alzheimer's Day, the Malta Dementia Society is today organising a memory walk that starts from Freedom Square in Valletta at 10 a.m. Everyone is invited.
For more information, visit www.maltadementiasociety.org.mt
But in comparison, it is these nights that are the pits; nights when I wake up on the sofa (a diet of late night telly and tubs, and I mean whole, family-sized tubs of ice cream does not help), in the middle of the night, so startled that I cannot remember where or who I am, and what I am doing. I always regain a sense of location and purpose, but for that eternity of seconds, the big ice cube of silence in the middle of my head, where my memories should be, is frightening.
In an age where every moment is captured and backed-up on pen drives, digital cameras and mobile phones, and where technological advance is calculated by how able we are in storing the largest amount of data in the smallest of spaces, the briefest loss of memory is a dire prospect. Which explains why Alzheimer's is such a terrible disease; one which causes people to lose their memories of you, and you to lose the people you know.
Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for about 60 per cent of cases. Dementia is the umbrella term for progressive degenerative brain diseases which cause impairment of brain function, leading to loss of memory and personality changes, and which affect thinking, behaviour and emotion.
Dementia is a progressive disease. In the earlier stages, there is only short-term memory loss. People suffering from dementia would not remember what they have eaten two hours before, but would still remember the past in detail. They would still remember facts associated with what they have forgotten. For instance, they would not remember a friend's name, but would still recall details of past conversations with the same friend.
As the disease progresses, more nerve cells die in particular regions of the brain. The latter shrinks and gaps develop in the temporal lobe, an area responsible for storing and recalling new information. Consequently, patients move further into the past, which leads to a situation where they would believe themselves younger or do not recognise friends and relatives.
As Alzheimer's continues its destructive march, patients lose every orientation to time and place. They forget familiar faces. They fall, get lost on their way home, cannot calculate distances, misplace things, fail to do any complicated movements and do unpredictable things. They lose all initiative and interest, spending hours staring at the television. They are unable to care for themselves, and daily familiar routines like eating, washing and dressing become an excessive demand on their abilities. Language competences also suffer. Patients forget simple words, and their speech and writing become hard to understand.
What is also hard to understand is the disease itself. Alzheimer's is still a mystery disease. Attempts to find a cure have failed and researchers can only suggest risk factors that can be linked to its development. When these factors are present, there is an increased chance, but not certainty, of the outset of Alzheimer's. Some risk factors, such as education and alcohol consumption, can be reduced while others, such as head injury and family background, cannot.
According to a study by the Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry journal, people who are lonely in their old age are also more likely to succumb to Alzheimer's than those who lead an active social life. In recent years, obesity was also included as a risk factor, with evidence suggesting that as more people become obese, so are Alzheimer's figures on the increase. What is also worrying is the surge in childhood obesity, which could mean that in the long term, it could hike up the numbers of Alzheimer's and dementia sufferers. Knowing the causes of Alzheimer's could lead to anticipate and prevent risk factors. The UK Alzheimer's Society, for instance, calls for more attention to a healthier lifestyle and slimmer waistlines in order to limit the risk of Alzheimer's. Studies conducted by the same society together with the British Heart Foundation and the Stroke Association show that exercise could deter the risk of dementia by 30 to 40 per cent. Reducing blood pressure is also conductive to preventing dementia, as is a Mediterranean diet and diets that are rich in Vitamin C.
Until a cure for Alzheimer's is found, some 26 million worldwide continue to suffer from dementia, with 4.7 million sufferers from within the European Union. In the UK alone, more than 700,000 people have dementia, while in Malta, it is calculated that, in 2005 some 4,072 people suffer from dementia.
Prospects are dire. As we live longer, figures are expected to rise. It is predicted that by 2050, the number affected is set to quadruple. In Asia, prevalence will rise from 12.65 million to 62.85 million. Worldwide, one in 85 persons will have Alzheimer's disease, with the total number of people suffering from dementia growing to more than 106 million. About half of these will need high-level care. With such a major epidemic looming, it is essential to have a strong strategy that identifies more risk factors, and more importantly, to find a cure for Alzheimer's and dementia.
• To mark World Alzheimer's Day, the Malta Dementia Society is today organising a memory walk that starts from Freedom Square in Valletta at 10 a.m. Everyone is invited.
For more information, visit www.maltadementiasociety.org.mt