Dementia: Facts and figures

Plans for "memory clinics" to spot and treat dementia are due to be unveiled by the government. 

"Dementia isn't when you can't find your car keys. We all do that....

"It's when you're standing at the door with your keys in your hand and you don't know what they are there for." The idea that mental faculties can deteriorate with age has been recognised for centuries. Some researchers even believe that Shakespeare's King Lear was a study of dementia. But experts say the condition is the health and social care challenge of the 21st Century, because the UK's ageing population means the numbers affected are set to soar. To address the problem, the government is publishing its long-awaited dementia strategy, first planned for autumn last year, setting out ways of improving care.

Dementia is an umbrella term which describes a serious deterioration in mental functions, such as memory, language, orientation and judgement. There are many types, but Alzheimer's disease, which accounts for two thirds of cases, is the most well-known. It is named after the German scientist Alois Alzheimer who identified the condition over a century ago. Alzheimer had studied a patient at the Frankfurt Asylum called Auguste Deter. He first saw her in 1901 and followed her case until her death in 1906. She displayed short-term memory loss and disorientation and, after her death, an examination of her brain showed she had the tell-tale protein deposits of amyloid plaques and tau tangles which characterise Alzheimer's disease.  

Less well known versions of the condition include vascular dementia - caused when the oxygen supply fails and brain cells die. Lewy Body dementia occurs when small structures develop in nerve cells, causing the degeneration of brain tissue. Fronto-temporal dementia affects personality and behaviour more than memory. All forms of dementia are progressive: as the brain becomes increasingly damaged over time, so a person's symptoms will become worse.

Dealing with dementia

Draft of the strategy set out a number of measures including a public information campaign, better training for GPs and health professionals to help them diagnose people with dementia, and extending the existing network of memory clinics. These would act as "hubs", where people could be referred if they were suspected of having dementia. Campaigners welcome them. Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, said: "People with Alzheimer's have complex health and social care needs which could be catered for, adding "The clinics would be somewhere for GPs to send someone, even if they are not sure of their condition."  But while campaigners welcome many aspects of the strategy, they are concerned about whether they will be funded properly. There are fears that the economic downturn will affect how much money the government can allocate to dementia care.