Dementia predominantly occurs in the elderly often leading to a progressive deterioration of mental capabilities. In Germany between 6 - 10 % of those over 65 years old and between 30 - 40 % of people aged 90 and older suffer from dementia. Symptoms include memory deficits, deterioration of spatial orientation, disturbed attention, problems in carrying out everyday tasks, verbal communication deficits and changes in personality. In advanced stages of dementia patients often require intensive care. More than 50 conditions are associated with dementia. In its most common form, Alzheimer's disease, the disorder is associated with protein deposits in brain cells and a progressive loss of these cells. Vascular dementia may occur when cerebral blood vessels are damaged. About 15 % of all forms of dementia are of mixed origin. Symptoms of dementia may also occur with other disorders such as Parkinson's disease.
Currently, most forms of dementia cannot be cured. Nevertheless it is assumed that early treatment has a positive impact on the course of the disease. Early diagnosis by general practitioners or by physicians in hospitals is therefore of key importance for the treatment of dementing diseases. In roughly 15 - 20 % of those over 75 years of age who show first mild symptoms of dementia in the form of a minor loss of memory, the progression of dementia could be delayed by early treatment.
Participants of the Network
Dementia is steadily becoming a social challenge as life expectancy increases. To address this growing problem, the Dementia Competence Network was established, and has been recieving support by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) since 2002. This nationwide network includes 14 leading university centers in the field of dementia research. Other participants are hospitals, medical specialists and family doctors in private practice, industrial companies and self-help organizations such as the Deutsche Alzheimer Gesellschaft e.V.
Goals and Projects
The Dementia Competence Network aims to develop advanced national guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of dementing diseases, thereby ensuring maximum quality in public health care. Another goal is to intensify and foster the exchange of knowledge between scientists and practitioners. Additionally special training is to be offered in particular to improve the early diagnosis and treatment of dementing diseases by general practitioners. Thus the research priorities of the Competence Network – early recognition and diagnosis; therapy; epidemiology and genetics – mainly focus on the development and optimization of methods for early diagnosis and treatment of dementia. The collection of epidemiological data and the identification of risk factors are expected to produce new insights into the origin and course of dementing diseases. Furthermore there are plans for establishing a central gene database for dementing diseases.
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Link to Network-Site