The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Telemedicine can help dementia patients: NIAS chief

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 29, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Telemedicine can help dementia patients: NIAS chief

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: People suffering from dementia — a brain disorder that affects memory, often confused with senility, and with no known cure at present — could benefit from advances in telemedicine, said K. Kasturirangan, Director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) and former chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation.

Speaking at the 14th National Conference of the Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India here on Saturday, Prof. Kasturirangan said that the space department’s programmes to connect rural hospitals to speciality hospitals in the State through satellites could help provide information on care giving and in detection of the disease.

“No fewer than 3.2 million people in India are affected by dementia, with 30,000 people with the disorder in Bangalore. Globally, 24 million people are estimated to be suffering from dementia, a figure that may grow four times by 2040,” he said. “There is strain on care givers, whether social, psychological or economic,” he said.

Prof. Kasturirangan said that cognitive science is fast becoming one of the major areas of research and is considered a bridge between biology and physics, psychology and social sciences.

R. Basil, CEO and Managing Director of Manipal Health Systems, said that with average life expectancy going up in India, the cases of dementia and Alzheimer’s — diseases that typically strike people over 60 — are bound to rise. He said that dementia is now at the forefront of biomedical research. “There are now tools that can diagnose the disease with up to 90 per cent accuracy and even detect genetic risk categories,” he added. Dr. Basil said that there was also an increasing awareness about what can be done to stave off dementia.

The two-day conference brought together neurologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, physicians, social scientists, policymakers, nurses and NGOs.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka