Dementia awareness.

Byline: ESA KHAN - Islamabad

Dementia has become a health priority worldwide. It is a terms used for the diseases and conditions characterized by a decline in a person's memory, language, problem solving and other thinking skills. The individual suffering from it faces difficulties in performing everyday activities. Certain changes also occur in the brain which leading to the ultimate loss of nerve cells (neurons). Various developed countries like U.K, U.S.A, Canada, and France etc. are taking prominent steps in raising awareness about dementia with a dementia policy or plan. Unfortunately in the developing countries there is wide scope of improvement, including Pakistan. Various research studies indicate that more than 50% of people with dementia are in the developing countries and this is expected to rise by 71% by 2050. In the developing countries like Pakistan the speed of aging is faster and there is a lack of awareness of dementia and its symptoms. Most of the people attribute the condition to a range of factors, such as doing too much, stress, shock, social isolation and in more extreme cases, black magic. These misconceptions led to misunderstandings about care and prognosis...