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MEMORY loss is no longer being viewed by doctors as the only sign of dementia. Difficulties in performing simple tasks like eating and problems in language skills such as writing are also emerging as key signs of the condition. The eating problems are brought about by small strokes in the brain while the language issue is caused by degeneration of its frontal lobe. This contrasts with the notion that dementia is mainly characterized by memory loss caused by Alzheimer’s.
The disease remains a major cause of dementia, affecting about two-thirds of those aged above 65. But in the last three years, the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) has seen about 50 patients with frontal lobe dementia, which was almost unheard of in Singapore five years ago, said neurologist Nagaendran Kandiah.
He told The Straits Times at the 2nd Singapore International Neurocognitive Symposium last Friday that dementia patients are also getting younger. Almost half of 650 dementia patients seen at NNI in the last three years are below 65, said Dr Nagaendran, the symposium’s organising chairman.
More than 30 per cent of these younger patients suffer from vascular dementia. This is brought about by small, often unnoticed blood clots in the brain, causing sufferers to lose their ability to perform everyday functions like eating and dressing. However, they often get misdiagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Frontal lobe dementia patients, on the other hand, often have trouble writing or speaking properly. They may therefore be thought to suffer from psychiatric disorders instead, said Dr Nagaendran. That is why there is a move worldwide to make memory loss an optional criterion in dementia diagnosis.
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