A world without Alzheimer’s?

COULD we create a world without dementia in the near future? This is the question that for years no one has dared to ask. We assumed (wrongly) that dementia was a progressive brain disease that was just part of the ageing process.

We are now discovering more and more about the tremendous resilience-building and regenerativecapacity of the brain, giving us reason to hope that Baby Boomers and future generations will not suffer to the same extent as current seniors.

Four years ago hope for the future changed.

The UK hosted the first ever G8 dementia summit, which set the explicit ambition to find a cure or disease-modifying therapy for dementia by

2025.

Since then, governments have formally united in the fight against dementia, and adopted the first Global Action Plan on Dementia, during the World Health Assembly in May 2017.

In the UK we have done much to improve diagnosis rates, from one of the lowest to one of the highest in Europe.

This matters because an early diagnosis is crucial in supporting patients to make lifestyle changes that slow the progress of the disease and also help families make adjustments to make their dementia journey easier.

Invest

There are things you can do today to invest in your brain health.

You can support brain development by doing things such as:

delving into deeper thinking – don’t get bogged down by the detail but see things from a wider perspective;

slow down to succeed, take time to pause, reflect and daydream;

block out and filter information rather than trying to multitask, getting a good night’s sleep, getting some aerobic exercise each week, staying socially connected eating a balanced diet will help prevent cognitive decline in the brain

Public attitudes towards dementia are also changing. We now have over 2 million Dementia Friends, and the first dementia-friendly communities signalling a change in the compassion with which we approach the disease.

The establishment of the UK Dementia Research Institute earlier this year will provide a new focal point for research across care, prevention and technology as well as biomedical science.

In the end, though, our approach to dementia is quite simply a litmus test of how compassionate a society we want to be.

Living with dementia can be horrific for the individual and their family but it doesn’t have to be. Social interaction the love and support of family and friends is one of the best possible ways to slow progression.

We may not yet be able to cure the disease but we can all play a part in tackling the symptoms.