Dementia Social Council - National dementia strategy to be developed

Dementia Social Council established - National dementia strategy to be developed

How big problem is dementia in Hungary today? What do you need to know about this disease?

Dr. Gábor Kapócs, neurologist and psychiatrist, gave an interview on ATV's program "Straight Talk" on 02.01.2024, in which he said that dementia means the loss of consciousness. In the profession it is called neurocognitive disorder nowadays.

The main types and subgroups of dementia:

Alzheimer's dementia, the most common, accounting for about 2/3 of cases
Vascular dementia, which results from changes in the blood vessels in the brain
Frontotemporal dementia (Pikk tests dementia)
Frontotemporal dementia (Pikk tests dementia)

Each of these types has the same core, that for different reasons, often unknown to us - note: for example due to increased homocysteine levels - in nerve cells, substances of a protein nature are produced which cannot be broken down. The immune system and central nervous system try to break them down, but they fail, secondary inflammation develops and the whole process leads to the destruction of the nerve cells and the connections between them. This causes the symptoms of dementia.

At present, people with these conditions and their relatives receive little support, both in terms of accommodation and specialist support, and the social care system should be linked to this. The number of patients is expected to triple in the next 20-25 years. In more developed countries the number of dementia patients is already decreasing, but in low and middle developed countries it is increasing, including Hungary. There are currently 250 000 diagnosed patients in Hungary, but only 40-60% of cases are diagnosed.

How can dementia be prevented?

Dr. Gábor Kapócs said that the genetic cause of dementia is very small, about 5%, and 95% of the diseases are due to lifestyle.

Avoiding it requires a healthy diet (vegetables, fruits, foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish and olive oil), regular exercise (at least 30 minutes 3 times a week), proper stress management and enough sleep. It is also important to exercise the brain every day, which could be reading, crossword puzzles, logic games, etc.

", obesity, unhealthy diet (too much cholesterol and red meat) increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and, in turn, the risk of dementia."

Homocysteine is an amino acid that is essential for normal cell function, but high homocysteine levels have undesirable effects. These include the symptoms mentioned above, but in addition to these, more than 100 mainly cardiovascular diseases or conditions have been identified that are associated with elevated blood plasma homocysteine levels.⁴ Read more about homocysteine HERE!