Abu Dhabi: Alzheimer’s and the expected increase in its prevalence may be a looming threat to the UAE, but efforts are already under way to better understand how the disease affects residents and its large-scale impacts.
These initiatives are being led by philanthropic organisation, the Shaikha Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation. A three-grant has been made by the Foundation to support leading Alzheimer’s researchers at the Sweden-based medical university, the Karolinska Institute, said Meera Al Mutawa, the Foundation’s leader for health programming.
“Early findings reveal that Vitamin E, when derived from food, can have a protective effect against Alzheimer’s. In addition, low levels of vitamin B12 and folate, and elevated amounts of an amino acid known as homocysteine, could play a role in cognitive impairment,” explained Dr Miia Kivipelto, professor of clinical geriatric epidemiology at the Institute.
“These should be tested in elderly people at risk of dementia, and the tests could be included in national diagnostic protocol,” she added.
In addition, social interventions are necessary to prevent stress and depression during midlife and later because these can increase the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s in old age.
The Swedish researchers also delivered a series of free talks in Abu Dhabi recently to raise awareness about the condition among UAE residents.
A handful of long-term care facilities also currently provide care for patients diagnosed with dementia.
“Generally speaking, most of our patients who suffer from various forms of age-related dementia are provided care though home health-care services. And approximately 12 to 15 per cent of patients enrolled in our home health-care programme suffer from dementia, and they receive regular care and treatment from licensed nurses and therapists,” said Howard Podolsky, chief medical officer at Manzil Health Care Services.
Manzil is part of a network of long-term care facilities in Abu Dhabi emirate that offers assistance both at home and in specialist institutions. Most of the network’s dementia patients are aged between 60 and 80.
“Long-term care in conjunction with rehabilitative medical therapies, such as physiotherapy, respiratory therapy, speech-language pathology therapy, cannot only slow the progress of dementia but also produces an overall improvement in the patient. Our services also provide an enormous amount of support for patients’ families, who no longer have to manage these very clinically complex patients on their own,” Podolsky added.
