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Dementia
Professor Graham Stokes discusses strategies to deal with this challenging condition
There are currently about 800,000 people in the UK living with dementia and this figure is expected to double over the next 40 years.
Statistics suggest that more than half of the people who are living with dementia have not been diagnosed, and this is a growing problem. As a result, we will increasingly come into contact with older people whose friends or relatives suspect they may have dementia, but who have not sought a diagnosis.
This early stage of the condition can be a very sensitive time for the patient, who may or may not be aware that they are experiencing changes in their mental state. This makes the initial consultation extremely important - particularly because early diagnosis is critical for enabling quality oflifeforthe patient.
To complicate things further, people who have early-stage dementia are often very good at concealing their symptoms and convincing those around them they are able to cope. As a result, traditional ways of establishing a diagnosis of dementia are considered less effective and smarter approaches to diagnoses and communication with the...