Dementia

Dementia is acquired dementia. It is often accompanied by psychotic symptoms:

• delusional ideas (more often simple, unsystematicized, limited by everyday issues, unlike schizophrenia, where delusional ideas are built into a whole system),

• hallucinations ( also simple - someone stands in the corner or outside the window, a cat runs on the floor, someone sneaks).

Spread of the disease

Globally, about 50 million people are affected by dementia as of 2021, and about 10 million new cases are recorded each year. 60-70% of all dementia cases are Alzheimer's disease.

At this time, about 8 million people in Russia suffer from mild cognitive impairment, people with dementia - about 2 million people. Psychiatrist Marat Kurmyshev, deputy chief physician of the Alekseev First Clinical Psychiatric Hospital, spoke about this in the summer of 2021. Dementia is the strongest manifestation of cognitive impairment.

Risk factors

According to the data for 2021, the main risk factors for the onset of the disease according to the doctor include: age, genetics and family history, excessive alcohol consumption, high cholesterol, plasma homocysteine, diabetes mellitus, mild cognitive impairment.

About 40% of people over 65 who were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment developed dementia within three years. In addition, smokers have a greater risk of developing atherosclerosis and other types of vascular disease, which can be the root causes of dementia.

Types of dementias

• Vascular dementia (if blood pressure often rises, strokes),
• senile dementia,
• Alzheimer's disease,
• Pick's disease.

Chronicle

2024

WHO counts 55 million people with dementia worldwide

In 2023, globally, there were more than 55 million people with dementia. Of these, over 60% live in low or middle-income countries. Such data in early May 2024 are given in the report of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Dementia is a syndrome that can be caused by a range of diseases that gradually destroy nerve cells and damage the brain, which usually leads to cognitive decline to a greater extent than would be expected as a result of conventional biological aging processes. WHO notes that the disease has physical, psychological, social and economic consequences not only for the sick themselves, but also for those who care for them, their family members and society as a whole. The most common form of dementia is estimated to be Alzheimer's, with a proportion of 60-70%. Other forms are vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, etc.

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According to the WHO, by 2050 the world population aged 65 and over will double and reach 2.1 billion people. At the same time, it is expected that by 2030 the number of people with dementia on a global scale will grow to 78 million, and by 2050 - to 139 million.

Currently, [as of 2023], dementia ranks seventh among the leading causes of death in the world and is among the main causes of disability of older people and their dependence on outside assistance, the organization said in a report.

The problem of dementia affects women substantially more - directly or indirectly -. In 2019, dementia, according to reports, cost the global economy $1.3 trillion. By 2030, this amount is predicted to increase to $1.7 trillion, and, adjusted for the increase in aid spending, will increase to $2.8 trillion.^[1]

A patch for the treatment of dementia has been released in Russia

In March 2024, Endopharm registered Rivastigmine-ET in the form of a transdermal patch. It is intended to treat dementia. Read more here.

2022

Presented a wearable ECG device for controlling depression and dementia

In late October 2022, researchers at Osaka University in Japan developed a wearable electroencephalography device that can measure brain activity, potentially allowing doctors to track conditions such as depression or dementia. Read more here.

Vitamin D deficiency directly raises dementia and stroke risks

In mid-June 2022, scientists from the University of South Australia reported a causal relationship between vitamin D and neurodegeneration and found out how many cases of dementia could be prevented with a dietary supplement. The data also show optimal vitamin D levels for the prevention of incurable disease. Read more here.

2021

Viagra reduces dementia risks by 69%

In early December 2021, a Cleveland Clinic-led study named sildenafil (a drug to increase potency; the most popular brand using it is Viagra) a promising candidate for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Read more here.

Running an online dementia risk calculator

In mid-July 2021, researchers from the University of Ottawa, the Bruyère Research Institute and ICES developed an online calculator to allow people over the age of 55 to assess the risk of developing dementia over the next five years and learn how they can reduce it. Read more here.

New MRI method reveals vascular problems that often cause dementia

At the end of May 2021, researchers at the University of Kentucky (UK) and the University of Southern California ( USA ) showed a new non-invasive MRI neuroimaging method, which allows early detection of blood-brain barrier dysfunction (BBB) associated with cerebral microangiopathy. This disease is the most common cause of vascular cognitive impairment, which results in a large proportion of cases developing dementia. BBB dysfunction represents a promising early marker of cerebral microangiopathy, as it is BBB that regulates a number of important metabolic functions, including the elimination of toxic substances from the brain. Read more here.

2020: COVID-19 pandemic increases deaths from Alzheimer's disease and other dementias by 42,000

In 2020, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 42 thousand more people died from Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in the world than the average for 5 years to 2020. This is about 16% more than the expected mortality among people with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. This was reported by Helen Mkhitaryan, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Neurologist of the Russian Gerontological Scientific and Clinical Center during a lecture for the medical community "Dementia. From risk factors to adequate therapy. "

"It is expected that by 2050 the number of people with Alzheimer's will double to about 14.3 million people. Already, European Union USA this disease ranks 6th in mortality. To the provoking factors of the development of dementia added, "said coronavirus Elen Mkhitaryan.