MADLSA Organizes Alzheimer's Awareness Lecture

The Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs

The Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs (MADLSA) represented by the Department of Family Affairs, in cooperation with Hamad Medical Corporation, organized a lecture on the occasion of the World Alzheimer's Day, which falls on Sept. 21 annually.

The lecture aimed to raise the level of public awareness of Alzheimers disease, familiarize members of the community with it, its symptoms, how to reach health care providers from the competent authority, educating community members on how to deal with patients, and clarifying the need to take care of the elderly, in addition to providing support and advice to families of people with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers.

Consultant Geriatrician at Hamad Medical Corporation Dr. Amir Ibrahim Abdalla presented the lecture with an introductory video about Alzheimer's disease and the reasons for its name. He explained that there are many types of dementia and each type is caused by a different disease, noting that the most common type is Alzheimer's disease, and that dementia caused by insufficient blood supply to the brain is the second most common type of dementia.

He showed that Alzheimer's disease affects the performance of multiple cognitive domains including memory, the ability to distinguish, the ability to recognize the surrounding environment, language, personality changes, making the right decision, as well as one's ability to take care of oneself and eventually the patient becomes completely dependent on others.

Dr. Amir pointed out that Alzheimers disease is due to several reasons, including: stopped education, high or low blood pressure, depression, smoking, social isolation, drinking alcohol, head accidents, and environmental pollution, in addition to genetic factors.

The State of Qatar is one of the first Arab countries to develop a national plan for dementia, launched in Nov. 2018. The plan focuses on dementia as a priority for public health and seeks to educate the community about this disease and its dangers. This campaign also seeks to diagnose, treat and care for dementia, provide support to health care providers, establish a database and conduct research on dementia and scientific innovations in its treatment. (QNA)