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May 2017
What is Dementia?
What is dementia? Contrary to popular belief, dementia is not a natural part of ageing and neither is it just about memory loss. It can affect anyone at any time and is indiscriminate, dementia does not take into account gender, race, age or background. Generally, people assume that dementia affects people over a certain age but people as young as their 20s have been diagnosed with dementia in the UK, it is a disease of the brain rather than something that just comes with advancing years.
Dementia is an umbrella term that describes various brain disorders that trigger loss of brain functions, these conditions are usually progressive and can in time become severe.
There are currently over 850,000 people in the UK with dementia, with that figure looking to rise to over 1 million by 2025 and 2 million by 2051. This means that 1 in 6 people over the age of 80 have dementia and 70% of people in care homes have dementia or severe memory problems. Furthermore, there are over 40,000 people in the UK under 65 currently living with dementia.
Dementia can have symptoms other than loss of memory, such as problems with speech and understanding, visual disturbances and emotional instability.
Whilst there is no cure for dementia at the present time there are medications available for use which may provide some relief from symptoms but research into the cause and eventual treatment of dementia is severely underfunded and it is understood that there is a shortage of researchers and clinicians joining the fight against dementia, with five times fewer researchers choosing to work on dementia than on cancer. However, dementia is one of the main causes of disability later in life, ahead of cancer, cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Despite these challenges, remember that not only is there more to a person than dementia, it is possible for then to live well with the condition with the support of those around them.
The Wills and Probate team at Chadwick Lawrence are all Dementia Champions, and understand the difficulties that individuals and family members can face following a dementia diagnosis. We offer friendly, patient and understanding advice at all our seven offices. Feel free to contact us at our Leeds, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Halifax, Pudsey, Morley or Horbury offices.
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