10,000 Ghanaians suffering from dementia; here's what you need to know about the silent killer

Europa

September 27, 2017 7:47 AM

A person with dementia may have memory loss and also experience changes in their mood or behaviour, with difficulties in solving problems.

An estimated 10,000 Ghanaians are said to be suffering from dementia, which is a neurological disorder that may lead to memory loss and difficulties with thinking.

A person with dementia may also experience changes in their mood or behaviour or may have difficulties with problem-solving or language.

Speaking at the 2017 World Alzheimer’s Day conference held in Accra on Tuesday on the theme: “Remember Me”, Dr. Akwesi Osei, the Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health Authority (MHA), said that even though the statistics were huge, many people do not report the condition because they often treat it as an ‘old age syndrome.’

He said that many often think that older persons are the ones who forget names, and that of their families and friends or not able to recognise their environment.

Dr Osei expressed worry over the lack of proper health care interventions and initiatives to create awareness about dementia to enable people report early symptoms.

He said that although dementia was a real tragic illness, because it was an irreversible condition which damaged the brain cells, its progression could be minimized with medication if patients reported early to the hospital.

More about Dementia

Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease or a series of strokes.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, although it is not the only one.

The specific symptoms that someone with dementia experiences will depend on the parts of the brain that are damaged and the disease that is causing the dementia.

Symptoms of dementia include memory loss, behaviour changes, sight and hearing loss, hallucinations and so on.

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