Researchers develop a novel treatment for dementia

13/Oct/2006: Dementia is the progressive decline of the cognitive function of the brain, caused by aging or damage to the brain. With the increase in life expectancy around the globe, the prevalence of dementia is steadily increasing.

Expect for a few types of dementia, with treatable causes, all other types have no cure and doctors use medication only to slow down the progress of this illness. In such circumstances, scientists at the Launceston General Hospital (LGH) have developed a revolutionary treatment for this illness, which could be effective in treating a common type of dementia.

Dr. George Razay, director of the LGH Dementia Research Centre, said that draining fluid from brain could treat one type of dementia. Dr. Razay and his team studied dementia patients at LGH’s Memory Disorders Clinic in this new research, which included 20 patients, an equal number of men and women between the age 58 and 92, who were suffering from a condition called ‘normal pressure hydrocephalus’.

Dr. Razay said that, in this condition a build-up of fluid in the ventricles of the brain, causes them to enlarge, leading to progressive deterioration of cognitive function, which ultimately results in full dementia.

Dr. Razay added that, if the excess fluid in the brain is drained out using a fine tube inserted in to the brain in a small operation, then patients suffering from ‘normal pressure hydrocephalus’, could recover from their illness.

The study found that most of dementia patients, who underwent a surgery to remove excess fluid in their brain, showed remarkable improvement. 94% of the patients showed overall improvement after the surgery and 71% of the patients showed improvements in their memory and cognitive functioning. 73% of the patients showed improvements in urinary functioning and 94% were able to walk more freely with better balance after the surgery.

The study found that ‘normal pressure hydrocephalus’ was more common among dementia patients than what was thought earlier and removal of excess fluid from the brain, improves the mental and physical functions of patients with this condition.

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