GPS software to be used in AIIMS study on dementia
NEW DELHI: Using technology as aid, the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will soon undertake a study on patients with dementia to understand its risk factors and devise further treatment for the incurable disease, officials said. Patients will be monitored and investigated for a span of three years, they said.
The project, funded by the Centre’s Department of Health Research, will run on pilot basis by the geriatric department of the AIIMS. The team of researchers selected for the study will monitor the patients through GPS-based software.
According to officials, a survey to identify patients for the research study will soon get underway in the South District, while the institute will also provide treatment to the patients selected. “This apart, the research will help in reviewing the government’s policies regarding the prevention of dementia and the current situation regarding disease care,” said an official.
Sources said that after the survey, the patients selected will be divided into two arms by age group, from 40 to 60 years and above 60 years. “Patients in the first category (based on age group) will be chosen based on the scale of risk factors like smoking, sugar, obesity, hair loss, head injury, alcohol addiction, diabetes, etc,” a senior doctor explained.
“Both groups will be monitored for the next 3 years, and observations from their behaviour, underlying medical conditions, or comorbidities, and lifestyle will be investigated during this duration,” he said.
Officials said that the success of the project may encourage the study to be expanded to other parts of the country.
Dementia is not a specific disease but is associated with damage to at least two brain functions – loss of memory and decision-making. Its symptoms are forgetfulness, limited social interaction, and poor thinking ability, due to which day-to-day activities are affected. Suppression and therapy can help control symptoms. The disease burden of dementia in the country is about 40 lakh, which is expected to double by 2030 and triple by 2050, according to various studies/researches.