By Krish Kapoor
Thesis Abstract:
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia that diminishes memory thinking and behavior capabilities. It is a progressive, neurodegenerative and incurable disease that currently affects more than four million people in India. People with dementia often find that they lack the motivation to do anything and many careers find it difficult to deal with the apathy, particularly if the patient has always been a fairly active person. This results in a strained patient and caregiver relationship. By providing meaningful and positive distractions for those affected with Alzheimer’s, we aim to improve the quality of lives of those suffering as well as their caregivers and build stronger patient and caregiver ties.
Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning and behavioral abilities to an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities. Worldwide, around 50 million people have dementia, with nearly 60% living in low income countries. In India, more that 4 million people are affected with some form of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia that causes problems in memory thinking and behavior. It is a progressive, degenerative and incurable disease that accounts 60%-80% of all dementia cases. Diagnosis for Alzheimer’s in India is very low. People often refer to it as whimsical behavior cropping from old age. The disease can run its course from 2-20 years and turn a fully functioning adult or senior citizen into a helpless individual.
Credits – Mihika Mehta – Class of 2018
