Window on Alzheimer's
 The
brain is perhaps the most awesome and complex example of divine
engineering. In performance and ingenuity, it surpasses even
the most powerful computer devised by mankind. Weighing between
1.3-1.4 kg. and containing some 100 billion neurons or nerve
cells, it controls and determines who we are, what we do and
how we do it. Every part of the brain controls some aspect of
our personality. Any malfunction in any part of the brain spells
disastrous consequences for our well-being. Brain related disorders
represent one of the major disease groups that will plague the
population and become a heavy burden on the society in the coming
years.
India is in the middle of an extraordinary demographic transition.
Because of improved health and due to better nutrition and hygiene,
persons of our generation are living longer. It is shifting
from being a young country with high mortality and high fertility
to the final stage of demographic transition – a higher
proportion of people in older and middle age groups.
Life expectancy in India was only 23 years in 1901. By 1996
it rose to 62 years. It will be close to 70 years by 2020
and according to a U.N. estimate, every third person by the
year 2030 will be over 60.
The combination of longevity with fewer children joining the
population is leading to a very rapid aging of the Indian
population where the number of dependent elderly will be higher
than the hands working to feed them. 50 years ago we would
not be discussing on a subject of old age and its associated
problems.
The figures here provide a new frontier to old age. The writing
on the wall is that compelling demands will be made upon the
rest of the society to cater to the health of the aged. This
increasing longevity is going to be riddled with problems
and diseases of the elderly. Also dealing with the ominous
dark cloud of Alzheimer’s disease, often described as
a living nightmare, will be an unparalleled challenge. Unless
a cure is discovered, Alzheimer’s disease will become
“dread words” in every other household. |
