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Dementia is a Cruel and Wicked Illness

 

Two million UK people estimated to have dementia by 2051

Dementia is the number one killer in the UK and currently some 850,000 people are affected by it – not just the elderly but the young as well. If some experts are to be believed, its spread will be plague-like in the years to come as the population slowly ages. By 2051, it is estimated that two million people in this country will be living with the illness. Not quite an epidemic but not far off. Both worrying and troubling. It is a medical condition we need to get to grips with so in many ways….

Did you know that Critical Illness Cover, with free life cover, would provide a payout if you were diagnosed with Dementia?

About dementia

If you’re becoming increasingly forgetful, particularly if you’re over the age of 65, it may be a good idea to talk to your GP about the early signs of dementia.

As you get older, you may find that memory loss becomes a problem. It’s normal for your memory to be affected by stress, tiredness, or certain illnesses and medications.

This can be annoying if it happens occasionally, but if it’s affecting your daily life or is worrying you or someone you know, you should seek help from your GP.

But dementia isn’t just about memory loss. It can also affect the way you speak, think, feel and behave.

It’s also important to remember that dementia is not a natural part of ageing.

What is dementia?

Dementia is a syndrome (a group of related symptoms) associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning. This may include problems with:

  • memory loss
  • thinking speed
  • mental sharpness and quickness
  • language
  • understanding
  • judgement
  • mood
  • movement
  • difficulties carrying out daily activities

There are many different causes of dementia. People often get confused about the difference between Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia and, together with vascular dementia makes up the vast majority of cases.

People with dementia can become apathetic or uninterested in their usual activities, or may have problems controlling their emotions.

They may also find social situations challenging and lose interest in socialising. Aspects of their personality may change.

A person with dementia may lose empathy (understanding and compassion), they may see or hear things that other people do not (hallucinations).

Because people with dementia may lose the ability to remember events or fully understand their environment or situations, it can seem as if they’re not telling the truth, or are wilfully ignoring problems.

As dementia affects a person’s mental abilities, they may find planning and organising difficult. Maintaining their independence, may also become a problem.

A person with dementia will therefore usually need help from friends or relatives, including help with decision making.

Why is it important to get a diagnosis?

Although there is no cure for dementia at present, if it’s diagnosed in the early stages, there are ways you can slow it down and maintain mental function.

A diagnosis can help people with dementia get the right treatment and support, and help those close to them to prepare and plan for the future.

With treatment and support, many people are able to lead active, fulfilled lives.

The symptoms of dementia tend to worsen with time. In the much later stages of dementia, people will be able to do far less for themselves and may lose much of their ability to communicate.

For more information on our any of our insurance policies please email or call us

FLEXIBLE HEALTH – CRITICAL ILLNESS COVER

 

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Body Clock Disruption Increases Risk of Disease

woman asleep at desk

Three scientists from the U.S. have won the 2017 Nobel Prize in medicine for their work in unravelling the mysteries of how our bodies keep time. A report by the BBC, summarised their research on fruit flies, which has helped to explain how ‘molecular feedback loops’ operate in all animals to keep time.

The research focused on an isolated section of DNA, in particular the ‘period’ gene and its production of a protein, known as PER. Levels of the PER protein rise during the night and fall during the day. Other genes were found to have an effect on the stability of PER, explaining why some people function better earlier in the day, and others better at night. The research looked at how the stability of PER affects sleep.

Speaking to the American news channel CNN, the Nobel committee reported that a person’s well-being is affected when there is a “temporary mismatch between our external environment and this internal biological clock.” This research breakthrough explains how our body clock controls wake and sleep cycles, and how its disruption has serious implications for our health. Also known as our circadian rhythm, our body clock not only controls when we want to go to sleep, it also drives changes in behaviour and body function.

Mood, hormone levels, temperature and metabolism are governed by circadian rhythms. Jet lag, we know, is caused by our body being out of sync. Rotational shift work has major implications for health. Any body clock disruption affects memory formation, and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

Body clock disruption in our increasingly 24/7 society is a potential public health issue that needs to be addressed. Many people working shifts are in a constant state of jet lag. This also applies to anyone suffering from insomnia, which we know in modern society is increasingly problematic.

In a report by the Independent, Professor Matthew Walker, one of the world’s leading sleep scientists, argues, that “a catastrophic lack of sleep in modern society is killing us.”

Lighting, television, computer screens, smartphones, longer commutes, the blurring of the line between work and personal time, and a host of other aspects of modern life are contributing to sleep deprivation.

Talking to the Guardian, the leading neuroscientist, Professor Walker, urged institutions and law-makers to take action, saying that “no aspect of our biology is left unscathed by sleep deprivation. It sinks down into every possible nook and cranny. And yet no one is doing anything about it. Things have to change: in the workplace and our communities, our homes and families.”

You may want to speak to your GP, or your private doctor, if you are suffering from sleep deprivation.

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Middle Age Fitness Halves Your Risk Of Stroke

middle-age-fitness-halves-risk-of-strokeResearchers have found that if men, when middle aged, get themselves in shape, they  halve their risk of suffering from a stroke.

Researchers have said that even ‘couch potatoes’ that get themselves in shape during their 40s-50s are less likely to have a stroke than those who, whilst having been fit already, stopped working out when they become middle aged.

Facts & Stats

Dr Erik Prestgaard (of the University of Oslo) studied data gathered from a group of 1,400 men who had been recruited in the 70s. These men had their fitness tested every 7 years (having their breathing monitored while cycling).

After accounting for age, it was found that a third of these men had become fitter, while the rest had declined.

Over the 28 years in which the study took place, 199 participants suffered a stroke.

The data showed that those that had increased their fitness the most ( around a quarter of the men) more than halved their risk of having a stroke (56%). This is compared to those whose fitness declined the most, after accounting for known risks; blood pressure, weight and smoking.

Dr Prestgaard, quoted in the Times, stated the improvements were in unfit men who were “just getting themselves together”, rather than aiming to become extremely fit.

The research did also show that there was no significant difference between men who got in shape in their 40s-50s than those who maintained their fitness throughout their life.

Here are a few tips on how to get fit after 40:

  1. Make exercise part of your routine. Try and exercise around three times a week. Start of with a mixture of walking and running, even if it’s for ten minutes a time. Build it up from there.
  2. Enter an event (a fun run or something similar). This way you have a goal to aim for and it doesn’t feel as though you’re doing it for the sake of it.
  3. Do core stability exercises. Doing this reduces the risk of injuries and will give you better form.

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Prostate cancer: the facts and why tall men are more at risk

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. According to Prostate Cancer UK, over 46,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year (that is 128 men every day). As many as 1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime, and more than 11,000 men in the UK die from the disease each year.

New research from Oxford University, published by the BMC Medicine journal, has found that tall height and obesity are associated with an increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer. The study, as reported in The Telegraph, found that for every extra 4 inches in a man’s height, there is a 21 per cent increased risk of developing high-grade prostate cancer, and a 17 per cent greater chance of death from the disease.

Researchers said there are several reasons why taller men may be more at risk. Taller men have more cells as well as larger prostates. It is thought the hormones and food which promote growth in childhood may increase the risk of prostate cancer. Lead researcher Dr Aurora Perez-Cornago, from Oxford University, indicated that the risk of prostate cancer may be related to early nutrition and growth.

Obese men are more at risk because obesity changes the hormone levels which increases the risk of the disease.

What is the prostate?

The prostate is a gland about the size of a walnut. It naturally grows bigger as you get older to about the size of a satsuma. It sits underneath the bladder and surrounds the urethra (the tube men urinate and ejaculate through). It’s main function is to help produce the fluid that carries sperm (semen).

What is prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer develops when the cells in the prostate start to grow uncontrollably. Prostate cancer usually develops slowly, so there may be no signs or symptoms for many years.

What are the symptoms?

As prostate cancer usually progresses slowly, some men can live for decades without symptoms or needing treatment. However, it can cause physical problems such as erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence. The most common symptoms men should get checked out by their GP are:

  • The need to urinate more frequently (usually at night)
  • Difficulty starting to urinate
  • Straining or taking a long time to finish urinating
  • A weak flow when urinating
  • A feeling the bladder is not fully empty
  • Needing to rush to the toilet to urinate
  • Dribbling urine after you finish urinating

Less common symptoms include:

  • Pain when urinating
  • Pain when ejaculating
  • Blood in urine or in semen

Who is at risk?

The chances of developing prostate cancer increases as you get older. Most cases occur in men aged 50 or older. Men with a family history of prostate cancer, and men of African-Caribbean or African descent are also at greater risk. According to new research tall men are also at greater risk. Obesity is also a risk factor.

If you are experiencing any symptoms or have any health concerns visit your GP, or if you have private health insurance, make an appointment with your private doctor.

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Hospital long waits for routine NHS ops at highest since 2008

A recent news report by the BBC confirms that NHS patients are waiting longer for non-urgent operations in England. In fact, the number of patients waiting longer than 18 weeks for routine treatment is at a record high since September 2008.

The Guardian confirms in a recent news piece that the number of people being forced to wait more than six months for an operation in hospital has trebled in the past four years. The types of routine treatment most affected include hernia repairs, cataract removals and hip or knee replacements.

Rising demand from an ageing population, widespread staff shortages, and an unprecedented financial squeeze are behind the NHS’s failure to meet a range of treatment waiting time targets.

Leaked documents earlier this year, according to a report in The Telegraph, revealed that the number of NHS patients waiting longer than 18 weeks for surgery is forecast to double in two years.

This comes on the back of the announcement made by Simon Stevens, NHS England’s chief executive, in March that the target of treating at least 92 per cent of patients awaiting routine surgery with 18 weeks was being downgraded so they could focus on improving A&E care.

NHS waiting time guidelines are based on the premise that if you are referred for a physical or mental health condition, you have a legal right to start non-urgent consultant-led treatment, or be seen by a cancer specialist, within a maximum waiting time. For non-urgent referrals this is 18 weeks.

Your waiting time starts from the point the hospital or NHS service receives the referral letter from your GP, or health practitioner. Your waiting time ends if a clinician decides no treatment is necessary, you decide you don’t want treatment, or your treatment begins.

Your right to an 18-week waiting time does not apply if you choose to wait longer for treatment, a delay is in your best clinical interests (i.e to lose weight or give up smoking), clinical intervention is deemed unnecessary at that stage, or you fail to attend appointments.

More and more people are turning to private health insurance for peace of mind when it comes to the possibility of requiring routine healthcare as they grow older. With burgeoning financial pressures the future of the NHS continues to challenge across the political spectrum.

A recent article published in The Lancet on The Future of the NHS concludes that unless several changes are implemented the NHS and adult social care system will be unsustainable. They point to radical service transformation and viable long-term funding solutions as the answer, including consideration of an insurance-based system starting in middle age to cover care costs.