THERE are a few drugs to treat the confusion caused by dementia. Some can, for a limited time, help improve memory. But there aren鈥檛 yet drugs that offer a cure. Dementia treatment is more about finding the right way to care for a person whose mental faculties are declining. Because it varies so much from person to person, there is no 鈥渂est practice鈥� plan.
Read more: Defying dementia
As we hunt down cures for dementia, one of today鈥檚 most feared illnesses, there are ways to fend off symptoms for longer
How best to care for someone with dementia?
Dementia is often thought of as a disorder of memory. But to slow its progression, it may be best to focus on factors that are simply due to ageing 鈥� trouble with vision, for instance. 鈥淲hat we do depends on what the most annoying symptoms are,鈥� says , a specialist in dementia care and author of . Simple things like improving the lighting, clearly labelling drawers, avoiding patterned floor surfaces and wallpapers or making sure someone has access to large-print books and reading glasses, can make a big difference to how rapidly symptoms progress.
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鈥淭here is not a lot we can do about the pathology,鈥� says Andrews, 鈥渂ut there are masses we can do to reduce the symptoms. And it is the symptoms that are dementia.鈥�
拢12.9 billion
The amount that could be saved annually in the UK by 2050 if we can delay the average onset of dementia by two years
Source: Alzheimer鈥檚 Research UK
To stay well with dementia you need to avoid stress, stay hydrated, exercise, be distracted with interesting things, keep pain under control, avoid constipation and sleep well 鈥� among other things, says Andrews. The more you can attend to these needs, the longer someone will be able to maintain a higher quality of life.
There are some new strategies being developed 鈥� care homes that focus on helping people better engage with their environment and look after themselves, for instance. But there is no definitive research to show one care type is better than another, says Sube Banerjee at the University of Brighton, UK.
People often live for a decade or more after a dementia diagnosis, and their needs will be different at different stages. Three key aspects have been shown to improve outcomes. First is increased awareness and understanding of the disorder from the public and medical professionals. Second, diagnosis as early as possible so people can take part in planning their future while they have the capacity to do so. And third is quality of care and support from family.
Part of that is ensuring that the caregivers look after themselves too, says Banerjee.
Family can be critical to whether a patient will do well, he adds. 鈥淭here are little miracles happening every day where family members help put the focus on what patients can do rather than what they can鈥檛.鈥�
What is dementia like?
With so many different causes, each person鈥檚 experience of dementia is bound to be unique. But specialists say the best way to understand what it is like for a loved one may simply be to ask. If they have mild to moderate dementia, they should be able to answer. What they say may surprise you.
Stuart Jennings, is the carer for his wife Carol (see 鈥�Should you test your genes?鈥�), who has advanced Alzheimer鈥檚. He is a chaplain at the University of Warwick, UK.
听
What is it like seeing your wife develop dementia?
The best analogy I know is a sandcastle. Little by little bits trickle away. The decline is slow and relentless, but then periodically there are huge falls, and you realise you鈥檝e lost something more 鈥� and for good.
What did she say it was like for her?
She didn鈥檛 want to talk about that, she was pragmatic, she talked about what she wanted. 鈥淧lease keep me clean,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e struggling, please get me into a good home.鈥� And the most important thing: 鈥淧lease make sure that my brain is donated.鈥�
Now I too have signed up to donate my brain for research 鈥� as a healthy control. It鈥檚 probably the most powerful expression of our love for each other, that we鈥檒l beat this awful illness, even in death. It鈥檚 an act of defiance.
Lorraine Brown, worked as a mental health nurse for 24 years. She has early-onset Alzheimer鈥檚, which was diagnosed in 2014. She serves as an ambassador for the .
听
Before you were diagnosed, were there signs?
I used to do a lot of bluffing. If I couldn鈥檛 recall people鈥檚 names, I鈥檇 try to catch their eye, or deliberately go and stand near them to ask a question.
The symptoms really go unnoticed for up to 10 to 15 years. And in that time, I was slowly changing. I know we all change, but I was losing my personality, myself.
When did you know something was wrong?
One day I went to a patient鈥檚 house in a very familiar area, a stone鈥檚 throw from the hospital where I worked. When I came out, it was as if somebody had placed me in a different town. When I looked around, I couldn鈥檛 recognise the buildings, the road markers, any of that. It had all gone.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淗ow best to care for someone with dementia?鈥�
