Int'l dementia debate opens in Switzerland amid growing number of cases

A two-day symposium on dementia, starting Thursday in Switzerland's capital Berne, will explore the ways Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland are dealing with a mental condition which is affecting an increasing number of people every year.

According to the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), some 115,000 people suffer from Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia in Switzerland, and 25,000 new cases are detected annually.

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that a person with dementia will typically suffer from memory loss, a deterioration of cognitive abilities, and the inability to carry out daily activities.

The health agency also indicates that Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia as between 60 and 70 percent of cases are thought to be linked to this chronic neurodegenerative disease.

In light of this, the FOPH iterates how the diagnosis of dementia, which is one of the main causes for disability and dependency for older people worldwide, can be destabilizing for both affected individuals and their immediate entourage.

The health office also added that close monitoring and specific care is needed, which creates a real challenge for health systems, societies and those who suffer from dementia.

For these reasons, the debate, which unites experts from five German-speaking countries, will examine how respective authorities are coping with the upward trend of dementia cases.

According to FOPH, Luxembourg will bring to the fore preventive measures, while Germany will highlight the collaborative efforts between the different actors directly involved with the syndrome and its treatment.

Austria will demonstrate how people with dementia can live at home with their families if active care is available, and Switzerland will focus on its existing strategy and its awareness-raising work.

The conference is part of a transnational exchange agreement decided upon last year between health ministers from these five countries.

Official figures estimate that worldwide, some 47.5 million people have dementia, and that there are 7.7 million new cases every year.

The number of people with dementia is projected to reach 135.5 million people by 2050, according to the WHO. Endit