Alzheimer's or the normal course of ageing?

摘要

In a recent report, the NHS Confederation (2010) defined dementia: 'Dementia is a syndrome (a group of related symptoms) that is associated with an ongoing decline of the brain and its abilities. These include thinking, language, memory, understanding and judgement; the consequences are that people will be less able to care for themselves.' The greatest risk for the acquisition of dementia is increasing age, with 20% of people aged over 80 having a form of dementia (Alzheimer's Society, 2007). There are currently an estimated 683 597 people with dementia in the UK. This is forecast to rise to 940 110 by 2021 and 1 735 087 by 2051 (Alzheimer's Society, 2007).