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Last week Louis Theroux’s television programme Extreme Love – Dementia aired on the BBC. The programme explored the struggles and triumphs of people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia as he strived to “experience their life first hand”.

Meeting couples and families in Phoenix, Arizona, the show provided an insight into the disease and its effect on relationships. It highlighted the every day difficulties faced by sufferers, from dialling a telephone number to recognising a spouse or son. By meeting real people with dementia and exploring their lives, the producers showed the hardships and complexity of illnesses such as Alzheimer’s.

This month in London, UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans for the government to ‘More than double spending on dementia’ by 2015 at the Dementia 2012 conference.

Cameron revealed that he considers the UK’s situation in terms of dementia to be a “national crisis” and warned that “drastic economic costs lie in wait” if we do not invest now.

A new report by the UK patient group The Alzheimer’s Society has revealed that six in every ten dementia sufferers remain undiagnosed.

This revelation sadly also diminishes the excitement of last week’s news; that Alzheimer’s sufferers can benefit from drugs longer than first thought. It was previously believed that anti-dementia drugs were effective only in the early stages, but work at King’s College London has shown medication to remain effective even in the severe stages.

A new draft report has stressed the need for change in regards to care of the elderly.

The report by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) Confederation, Age UK and local Government Association says that dementia and Alzheimer sufferers are among the elderly who are most failed and neglected by the UK’s national care system.

It concludes that a one-size-fits-all model is not working with staff compassion and understanding replaced by tick lists and red tape.

The report highlights the importance of the individual and urges the care system to deliver its service with an improved level of dignity.

For example, empowering staff with dementia training will not only improve understanding but allow elderly to be cared for in a manner that is suitable to their needs; ensuring individual preferences, fears and personalities become the priority. 

Macho German football legend Rudi Assauer recently revealed that he is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Assauer, aged 67, is famed for his career on and off the field with teams such as Borussia Dortmund.  He first experienced symptoms of Alzheimer’s as far back as 2004 when he was still manager for Schalke 04.

It is hoped that Assauer’s high profile status could help promote discussion of the illness, which is still surrounded by much taboo.

Hans-Jürgen Freter, from the German Alzheimer’s Society,described  getting an initial diagnosis for those affected as “crucial”, particularly as some of the classic signs of Alzheimer’s or dementia could be a result of more simple problems such as thyroid deficiencies.  

Although the disease cannot be cured, it can be treated with drugs to potentially delay progression of the disease.

Results recently published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine indicate that virtual reality-enhanced exercise can delay cognitive decline.

The technique combines physical exercise with interactive video-game features. Popular examples include the Wii Fit and PlayStation Move, which increase the appeal of exercise by shifting attention towards competition and visual imagery rather than the physical act of exercising.

The recent trial compared cybercycling with the standard stationary bike and found that seniors who used the cybercycle had a 23% reduction in risk of clinical progression to mild cognitive impairment compared with traditional cyclists.

An ageing population makes it increasingly important to understand from a public health perspective who is most likely to suffer from dementia.

The Einstein Ageing Study recently published in Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders has offered some new insights into the demographics of the disease.  The study of nearly 2,000 people aged 70 or older investigated the prevalence and incidence of a range of conditions linked to dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment.

Not surprisingly, the study found that rates of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease increased with age but were not affected by sex, affecting men and women in equal numbers.

Education and race were also not significant risk factors in these disease areas.

However, rates of amnestic mild cognitive impairment did increase significantly in men and in black populations.

Many people know all too well the devastating effect that dementia can have on the brain, yet it has been found that our memory for music appears to remain undiminished.

Singing for the Brain is a choir run by the Alzheimer’s Society in the UK for people with dementia and their carers. The weekly sessions see even the most seriously affected individuals singing along merrily to tunes of their youth. It seems that music also allows individuals to demonstrate a capacity to remember and learn through increased responses, retention of new lyrics and the creation of new relationships.

Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) are both two forms of dementia sharing similar symptoms. This means that telling the two apart is a real challenge. 

In a recent study published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, so-called PIB markers were used along with a brain PET scan to detect amyloid in the brain. Amyloid is the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease but completely unrelated to FTLD and usually detection is only possible after death. This led to an increased ability to differentiate between the two dementias.

"While widespread use of PIB PET scans isn't available at this time, similar amyloid markers are being developed for clinical use, and these findings support a role for amyloid imaging in correctly diagnosing Alzheimer's disease versus FTLD," said Rabinovici, the study’s author.

A recent study published in Neurology, November 2011, revealed that people in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease are more likely to have a lower body mass index (BMI).

This finding is in accordance with other research stating that people who are overweight in middle age are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease decades later than those of a normal weight.

The study assessed persons suffering from mild cognitive impairment as well as individuals with no memory problems. Those who displayed the Alzheimer’s biomarkers were also more likely to have a lower BMI than those who did not.

These results have the potential to incriminate the hypothalamus, the key player in regards to metabolism and food intake, in the development of the disease but the study’s authors noted that further research is needed to assess the direction of cause and effect.