Today, September 21 is World Alzheimer’s Day, a disease that affects between 500,000 and 1.3 million people in Spain, according to data provided today by the Ministry of Health, and which have made it the leading cause of dementia worldwide.
The University Hospital of La Ribera presented “La Ribera against Alzheimer’s”, a new platform for collaboration between professionals from the Ministry of Health and patient and family associations in the region, which will serve to work together on new projects, objectives and lines of work aimed at raising public awareness of the impact of this disease. In the region of La Ribera, 225 new cases are detected each year and some 3,500 people suffer from this disease, which currently ranks third among health problems, behind cardiovascular accidents and cancer.
According to Dr Juan Antonio AvellanaHead of the Geriatrics Unit of the University Hospital of La Ribera, ” the most common initial disorder is memory loss, followed by other symptoms such as language impairment, inability to recognize objects or people, temporal-spatial disorientation, increased anxiety, and onset of affective disorders. »
It is currently difficult to prevent the occurrence of this disease because the specific mechanisms that trigger it are not fully understood. The recommendations of the experts focus mainly on two key points: early detection of the first symptoms and the exercise of memory and cognitive functions in order to delay the evolution. Cognitive training includes the intellectual exercise of memory and other areas such as orientation, language, calculation, etc.
In order to treat Alzheimer’s disease, coordinated and multidisciplinary care between primary care, nursing and geriatrics, and collaboration with patient and family associations, because this type of neurodegenerative dementia has a significant impact on the lives of those affected and their families, who are generally responsible for their care and care. Over time, these loved ones often suffer from physical, psychological and health exhaustion caused by the ongoing stress of battling the disease and the sense of lack of control that accompanies its progression. For all this, it is essential to “take care of the caregiver”, according to specialists.