Dementia Action Week 2019 – A time to remember those who cannot.

We’ve all forgotten where we put our car keys, our sunglasses, or our book on occasion. We’ve all walked into a room, only to totally forget why we walked in there in the first place. Everyone forgets things all the time. Can you imagine if your whole life was spent not being able to remember simple tasks, forgetting how to do things that have always been second nature, and being frustrated at your failing memory? Unfortunately, this is the reality for the 50 million dementia sufferers around the world.

Dementia is an umbrella term, used to describe a number of neurological conditions that result in the loss of memory and processing ability. The most common forms of dementia are:

• Alzheimer’s Disease – the most common, affecting adults of any age, mostly from the ages of 60 onwards.
• Vascular dementia – occurring when there is a shortage of blood flow to the brain, caused by a stroke. Symptoms may appear to improve until another stroke occurs, but a demise in cognitive function is still evident.
• Frontotemporal dementia – a degeneration of the brain’s frontal or temporal lobes.
• Lewy body dementia – caused by the degeneration and death of the nerve cells in the brain, thought to be caused by abnormally shaped structures within the nerve cells.

In the Philippines, there are more than 300,000 people living with different forms of dementia. Described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “a syndrome in which there is deterioration in memory, thinking, behaviour and the ability to perform everyday activities”, dementia is usually classes as an ‘old person’s condition’. The Philippines is known for having a relatively young demographic, but with an increasing ageing population, the prevalence of dementia is on the rise.

September 21 marks World Alzheimer’s Day, which falls in line with Dementia Action Week, a week aimed to raise awareness of the issues and myths that surround dementia.
EasyDNA Philippines is on board with Dementia Action Week, and wants to provide peace of mind to anyone who thinks that they may have a genetic predisposition to this dreadful condition.
Although there is no evidence to suggest that there are direct genetic links to dementia (aside from rare forms of dementia, like Familial Dementia and Huntington’s disease), there are genes which may have an influence on whether or not you develop it in your lifetime.
To establish whether you have a genetic predisposition to dementia, the 

Genetic Predisposition Health Test provides an analysis of your unique genetic makeup, to give you the results that you need.
This test checks against your DNA profile to discover if it contains the key markers associated with one of 34 diseases, as well as providing you with an estimated lifetime risk, compared against the general population. Once you have established your risk level of developing a disease, you can start on a preventative course of action, which may mean changes to your activity levels, diet, and brain training.
The Dementia Society of the Philippines is committed to reaching out to anyone involved with, or affected by dementia. They endeavour to excel in the fields of education and policy development surrounding dementia, and act as advocates for sufferers, families and caregivers.
So get involved in Dementia Action Week, and discover your risk of developing this devastating illness with the help of EasyDNA Philippines. 
Your future health is worth the investment!