KARACHI, Sept 9: “Dementia is a commonly encountered disease in the community and by one estimate about half of the population above the age of 85 are affected with some form of dementia”, said Dr Shahid Baig, consultant neurologist at Aga Khan University Hospital.

He was giving a presentation on “What is Dementia?” at the monthly public health awareness programme ‘Signs, symptoms and care’.

In his talk, Dr Baig described the salient features of dementia, which generally are in the form of progressive memory decline and forgetfulness. The patient feels difficulty in coping with routine tasks, and slowly the forgetfulness extends to the point where the patient is unable to control urine and becomes almost bed ridden.

He explained that major causes of dementia are Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. He highlighted details of other treatable diseases with features of dementia.

The speaker and the panelists on the occasion included Dr Saad Shafqat, Dr Nadir Ali Syed, Dr Mohammad Wasay and Dr Imran Wahedna. They took part in the question-and-answer session at the end of the programme.—APP