Bangalore: Every once in a while, we hear about senior citizens with fading memories who leave their homes, never to come back. There are many others who may not get lost but suffer from an inability to think properly and are disoriented as their age progresses.

All these people suffer from dementia, a debilitating condition that affects old people.

The lack of information on the disorder and the dearth of a support system for the aged suffering from dementia makes it a difficult task for the caregivers to look after the elders in their family.

"Caregivers, who are mostly relatives of the person with dementia, are overstressed and have no one to share their apprehensions with. The problem is that only a little information on dementia and its symptoms is available and not everyone is aware of the disease. So most people may not even recognise it as a problem to be dealt with and take it as part of the aging process," says Radha Murthy, president of the Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Society of India (Karnataka Chapter).

In one year, the Elder's Helpline gets more than 30 calls about senior citizens who have ventured out of their homes and are missing. Many of these were people with dementia.

She added that there was a need for caregivers to be counselled and given information on care and management of the elderly with dementia. "Relatives may get offended when these people use abusive language, repeat the same tasks or keep forgetting simple things as they are not able to understand their condition," she says.

Senile dementia is a disorder that can be brought on by the progressive deterioration of the brain caused in part by aging. According to medical experts, people over the age of 65 are more prone to the more common types of dementia and one in three people aged over 90 have senile dementia.

This disorder is marked by memory impairment, inability to think abstractly, loss of impulse control, poor personal hygiene and disorientation.

Senile dementia can be caused by Alzheimer's disease or multi-infarct dementia, which is an ailment resulting from a series of strokes that damage brain tissue.

According to Dr. Radha Murthy, there are no day care centres in the city where caregivers can leave their elderly for a few hours while they get on with their or support groups that can help them in the time of crisis.

"There are senior citizens homes but these institutions refuse to take people with dementia. Moreover, it would not be a good idea to separate these people from their family. Day care centres where they can be looked after for a few hours would be a better solution," she says.

Caregivers who need advice on dealing with elderly with dementia may contact Ph: 23548444, 23548555.

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