Page 8 - Changes and Challenges

Dementia
Changes and Challenges
Who Can Get Dementia?
Simply stated, “you can!” There are several forms that are inherited. Generally
inherited forms manifest there symptoms earlier in life. The causes of most
forms of Dementia are poorly understood – if at all. The older we become, the
greater our chance of developing a Dementia. Some of us were “lucky” and
developed our Dementia’s at a relatively young age.
The rates of Dementia are increasing. This because we are living longer, and
the diagnostic process is improving. There may also be some unknown
environmental factors contributing to this rise, but this is at the best
speculative.

Can You Prevent Dementia?
There is no definitive evidence of any guaranteed preventative measures, but
you can minimise your risk factors. The best recognised way of doing this is to
maintain a “Healthy Heart” lifestyle, though diet and exercise, and to keep
your brain active.

Cures?
There are many promises being promoted, but none have delivered.
Remember there are well over 100 different conditions classified as a
Dementia, conceivably we will need a similar number of cures.

Realistically, if a cure was announced today for my form of Semantic
FrontoTemporal Dementia, it would likely take between 10 and 15 years for
that cure to be trialled in a human population, to be approved by the relevant
health authorities before it would become generally available. By then it is
unlikely that I will still be alive. Today’s cure is hope for the next generation.

While there are no viable cures, there is much we can do to delay the progress
of our Dementia, and to mitigate some of its effects. In effect to continue not
only to live, but to live well.

This is the purpose of this booklet. To raise awareness of the effects of
Dementia and to offer some ways of coping with them. To help us live all to
live well.

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