At an event on Tuesday held to mark World Alzheimer’s Day 2025, Thara Srinivasan, vice-chairperson, Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF), stressed the need for the early detection of dementia.
She delivered an address on ‘Knowing Dementia, Knowing Alzheimer’s: From Awareness to Action’ on the occasion. “Dementia is a progressive disorder of the brain. Nearly 1 crore Indians are affected. While Alzheimer’s is the commonest type, others are vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. It imposes significant emotional and financial strain on people, their families, and health care systems. There is a need to promote awareness to encourage early detection,” she said.
She noted that SCARF had conducted many community-based programmes in Thiruporur and Kancheepuram. “Behavioural symptoms such as wandering away from home and not knowing how to return, aggression, and lack of self-care can be very distressing. Technology such as use of virtual reality models are being increasingly used to engage persons with dementia,” she said.
She added that some preventive strategies were leading a healthy lifestyle, treating diabetes and hypertension, preventing social isolation, and addressing hearing and visual impairments.
