Dr Ross talks about coping with Dementia

We concluded with Dr Kathleen Ross - A consultant in Geriatric Medicine at UCT. We were talking about coping with Dementia. According to Alzheimer’s South Africa there are more than 36 million people with dementia worldwide and the number is expected to rise to over 115 million by 2050. Dementia is a collective name for conditions in which progressive degeneration of the brain affects memory, thinking, behavior and emotion. The exact cause of Alzheimer’s disease and most of the other dementias has yet to be established. Dementia is not a normal part of ageing and knows no social, economic, ethnic or geographical boundaries. Although individuals experience dementia in their own way, eventually those affected are unable to care for themselves and need help with all aspects of daily life since there is currently no cure. For more information you can contact Dementia South Africa on (021) 421 0077 / 78 or visit www.dementiasa.org or Alzheimer’s South Africa on (021) 979 2724 or visit www.alzheimers.org.za