With time industries around the world are going through changes in terms of advancements, research, and development, all because of technology. It is devastating to still be able to consider Dementia and Alzheimer’s as a disease with no cure. The Alzheimer’s Association highlights that every 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia.
Image source: http://www.alz.org/facts/images/quick-facts-2016.jpg
Research has led to the discovery of cases with reversible dementia, which means that there are conditions of dementia that can be reversed with some form of treatment. Here are some of the following conditions:
- Mitochondrial disorders, lysosomal storage disease, and leukodystrophies are forms of metabolic disorders of the nervous systems that can lead to dementia. This condition can be treated with appropriate metabolic treatment.
- A form of dementia is also known as Cerebral Vasculitis, which is also known as death of tissues, it is found in the walls of blood vessels. This can be treated with immune suppressants.
- Considerable amount of research shows that people who suffer from depression are at a greater risk of developing dementia. However, it can be reversed once the depression is treated through drugs or therapy.
- Low blood sugar levels or Hypoglycemia can also cause dementia along with endocrine abnormalities and thyroid issues, but can also be easily reversed with the appropriate medication or treatment procedures.
- It is also very common for elderly citizens to develop a condition, which involves abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid within the brain. This can cause problems with the bladder as well as walking, but worst of all, it can lead to dementia. Fortunately, there are new and advanced treatments that can reverse the damage through the implantation of a balloon like shunt to divert the flow of the liquid in the brain.
- Generally, it is said that excessive alcoholism in an early age can cause early onset dementia in people under the age of 65. This happens due to nutritional deficiencies of vitamin B3, also known as thiamine. If the damage is not too severe, then the deficiencies can be reversed through IVs and vitamin B supplements.
- Substances released by cancer cells can sometimes damage the tissue and cells surrounding it. This can cause a disruption in the normal functioning of the cells and can resemble symptoms of dementia. This can be treated in its earlier stages through medication, surgery or chemotherapy.
So even though there is no cure or specific medication to treat dementia, we cannot say that everyone who develops the symptoms is a lost cause.
Other than these research advancements, the medical industry on the whole has adopted different techniques that help save time, money, and effort. A great example could be the cloud based EHR systems (Electronic Health Record) that allow healthcare management to store snapshots of the patient record files, that include their personal information, procedures or medication that they have been exposed to while they were admitted, and so on.
The reason EHR systems are on a rise is because of the accessibility and productivity they allow. Since, they are cloud based; it becomes very easy to share information from one organization to the other with the least amount of hassle. They provide information to all the departments of the hospital under one software portal.
Medical billing is another form of advancement as it automates time consuming processes such as stuffing files, writing down notes, making separate bills and taxes. Latest medical billing software allows you to put your statements on a monthly cycle and help make your office more efficient as electronic statement functionality does the work for you.
Considering dementia and biomedical advancements of today, there is a new way of dementia testing that will not only save your time, but also money spent on travelling to hospitals and paying high fee to see a physician. AirG has introduced a new dementia testing app called BrainTest, which allows users to take the SAGE test right from their devices. This way they will not have to visit the doctor for the test and spend extra money while doing so. Other than this, it is a great resource for teachers to teach their students how online testing works for dementia.
Even though our scientists and developers are coming up with new pieces of knowledge, and technology, the main focus of people is however on the cure that can halt or decrease the death rate once and for all.
