Day 9: Who are you?

The average age of people in China is 35, yet China is currently undergoing a crisis with the older generation. No one know how to take care of those with Alzheimer's or dementia. An article released in the New York Times last month, briefly described the situation.

Image Courtesy of The New York Times

Alzheimer’s and dementia used to be a shameful disease, but now China’s attitude is changing to deal with the expected 400 million people over the age of sixty in the next thirty years. Currently, China does not have enough people skilled in coping with dementia patients, including doctors, and there are few nursing homes that are trained to handle dementia patients.

Boston College is working on ways to slow down the onset of the disorder and alleviate health care costs, not only for China’s impending crisis, but globally.

The China Alzheimer's Project believes that in a matter of decades, dementia will be an epidemic. According to their website, Alzheimer's is missed diagnosed more than 75% and that only 21.3% of the patients have taken medicines.The China Alzheimer's Project was launched in September 2009, whose mission is to provided awareness and information about the disease, and to provide a better quality of life for patients and families coping with a dementia.

Image Courtesy of Life.com

Other non-profits across the country are working to increase awareness of dementia, and in May and October the Alzheimer's Society is hosting a six-day trek across the Great Wall.

There's a really good video about dementia patients in China on YouTube.

The Chinese has been using a moss plant as an herbal remedy to ward off dementia. Huperzia Serrata that has been brewed for centuries in tea. The moss is supposed to help with seizures, brain swelling, fevers and inflammation. During the 1980s part of the moss was extracted and put in a supplement, Huperzine-A that is fairly inexpensive. The supplement is supposed to help with memory, cognition, and the behavior of Alzheimer's. Research is being conducted currently at Havard to use the supplement as an anti-seizure medication, and it is the only supplement on the market to help with short-term memory loss.

So if you have a bad memory or are suffering from this disease, take these pills and remember to follow me to Beijing!

Moos'n Out.