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Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) yesterday marked World Alzheimer’s Day with an affirmation of its commitment to provide specialist care to patients and their families living with Alzheimer’s disease. September 2016 will mark the fifth global World Alzheimer’s Month, an international campaign to raise awareness and challenge stigma.
Alzheimer's disease is a type of dementia, which is a general term for loss of memory and other intellectual abilities that cause problems with thinking and behavior and affect a person’s ability to live a normal life. The most common early symptom of Alzheimer's is difficulty remembering newly learned information.
The progression of the disease leads to more severe symptoms, which include disorientation, mood and behavior changes; deepening confusion about events, time and place; unfounded suspicions about family, friends and professional caregivers; more serious memory loss and behavior changes as well as difficulty speaking, swallowing and walking.
The majority of people with Alzheimer's a re 65 and older but Alzheimer's does not only affect the elderly. Up to five percent of people with the disease have early onset Alzheimer's, which can appear in people as young as in their 40s or 50s.
Dr. Hanadi Alhamad, Chairperson of Geriatrics and Long Term Care at HMC explained that Alzheimer is the most common form of dementia, accounting for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases. “This is a progressive disease for which there is no known cure yet and current Alzheimer's treatments can only temporarily slow the worsening of dementia symptoms.”
“As our local population grows and ages, we are seeing an increasing number of Alzheimer cases each year and have developed our geriatric services to include specialist dementia care. We provide pharmacological (medication based) and non-pharmacological (such as occupational therapy) treatments to at least 300 patients diagnosed with some form of dementia.”
Dr. Alhamad explained that the team also provide much needed advice and respite support to families who are often exhausted and stressed when the patient may present more severe behavioral problems.
“I urge anyone with a family member who they feel might be showing signs of unusual memory loss to come to our Memory Clinic for a comprehensive and confidential diagnosis. They can simply go to their Primary Health Center and get a referral to the Memory Clinic in Rumailah Hospital and arrange for an assessment by our geriatric specialists. Early diagnosis and the right treatment is very important to help mitigate the symptoms and can reduce the rate of deterioration of the patient’s cognitive functioning. This means we can definitely help patients with Alzheimer’s experience a better quality of life for longer if we can work with them and their families at the onset of the disease,” added Dr. Alhamad.
The Memory Clinic has multi-disciplinary teams who can provide more personalized care for these patients. Each person with dementia is an individual with unique likes, dislikes, routines and needs and when this is recognized in the way the care is delivered then patients and their families benefit immensely.
This disease is often called a family disease, because the chronic stress of watching a loved one slowly decline can be very stressful for the whole family on different levels, not just emotionally but also financially and physically.
“Family and caregiver support plays a crucial role in ensuring the affected individuals retain their sense of dignity. But these caregivers often need help to cope with the strain of caring for a loved one who can no longer care for themselves,” said Dr Alhamad. “At HMC we are committed to working on solutions that will help improve the quality of life for those with Alzheimer's and their caregivers. Family members should know that help is available and they should not be afraid to seek professional help if a loved is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.”
World Alzheimer’s Day, held on 21 September each year, is a day on which Alzheimer’s organizations around the world concentrate their efforts on raising awareness about Alzheimer’s and dementia.
