It seems like I’m reading a news report every five minutes that contains the assertion that scientists are close to finding a “cure for dementia”.
Then there are the bewildering array of diets, exercise regimes, vitamin and mineral supplements and plant extracts that claim varying degrees of success in halting or slowing the progression of dementia. These can include “miracle” products that can “boost short term memory” and quack remedies that cost an arm and a leg.
Now I’m only a humble layman, but I know that “dementia” is a syndrome; a portmanteau word to describe a whole class of symptoms related to memory loss. It seems clear to me, that it is unlikely that there will ever be one “cure for dementia”, rather a series of breakthroughs in the areas of early diagnosis, vascular science, genetics and many other related disciplines.
So I won’t hold my breath.
I’ll take every new story of a “breakthrough” as a small step along the road for some people with some form of dementia.
Personally, I’d rather see more money invested in developing more tools for early diagnosis to replace the blunt instruments of the “memory tests” that so many of our GPs currently use. I'd love to know your thoughts on this subject.