The Immedicable

It's been almost 2 years since what we call "PANDEMIC" the COVID-19 has affected our lives. Our lives have increased it's dependance on technology. Health technology or Medical technology is defined by the world health organization as the application of organized knowledge and skills in the forms of devices, medicines, vaccines to solve a health problem and improve quality of lives. We all are aware that technology is quiet capable of finding new research ways or medical processes to find cure to the uncurable diseases. Similarly another such uncurable disease to which the medical technology has not been able to give a breakthrough is Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's disease is a disease which many of you might have heard, it is a progressive neurological disorder that causes the brain to shrink and the brain cells to die. Dementia is the root cause of this disease, Dementia refers to the loss of cognitive functioning ,thinking, remembering and reasoning to such an extent that it interferes with a person's daily life and activities.

After recently watching a Tamil film which is a remake of Kannada film (Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu ) is based on this particular disease, where the male lead a retired school master who has lost his wife due to cancer and his son after catching a few symptoms like memory loss when he forgets that he has to give the change for the auto fare by which he came by. Secondly he faces difficulty with language when he is unable to say out the word watch and tries to ask his son about its whereabouts by gestures. Later he finds that watch in a dosa batter which shows symptoms of confusion.

When consulted with a neuro physician , the session starts with the doctor asking the patient to remember three words in an order and asks them to repeat and bravo he is able to do it. Moving on the doctor asks him today's date, the month and the year and when the male lead faces difficulty in answering such simple questions. Letting it go , the doctor asks him to repeat the first three words he had told him , the inability of the patient to say them again the doctor concludes that he is in the first stage of Alzheimer's. Later on the movie continues with the male lead not able to recognize his closest friend and so on and so forth.

This disease has no specific cure , but a few drugs like Galnatamine, Rivastigimine and donepezil are prescribed for mild to moderate symptoms.