Dharma Jaya helps people suffering from Alzheimer's

By Ida Indawati Khouw

JAKARTA (JP): Do you often place your room keys on the table and later arrive home without them because you forgot to grab them when leaving? Or do you often forget which day of the week it is or fail to find the right words in conversation? It's no big deal if you are under 65 and if you're not than you probably just excuse it as one of the common characteristics of an old person.

But be careful if the extent of your forgetfulness is so ridiculous that you keep forgetting to flush the toilet, or to turn off the gas in the kitchen after use, getting lost near your home, putting ice cream under the pillow and many other basic mistakes in daily activities. If that's the case, be wary, check for Alzheimer's disease.

People generally consider such symptoms as mere senility, though if Alzheimer's is tested positive, then be careful because the disease is deadly. The patient could die between five and 10 years after it is first diagnosed (according to medical estimate).

Doctors concerned with the prevalence of the disease have founded the Clinic for Alzheimer and Related Diseases at Dharma Jaya Hospital for nerve and mental illness in Mangga Besar area, Central Jakarta.

The clinic concentrates on treating patients with Alzheimer's and related diseases like dementia (pikun) as well as stimulating brain ability.

"Even though we cannot cure the disease, at least we can slow down its process and thus lengthen the life span of our patients," said the clinic's neurologist Simon Lazuardi. "But more importantly, we can design methods to prevent people from developing the disease."

The clinic, the first ever in Jakarta, opened to the public on Jan. 20.

The idea grew out of increasing concern over Alzheimer's widespread prevalence. The Dharma Jaya Hospital treated 15 people with Alzheimer's in the year 2000 alone while every month the hospital treats about 10 patients with dementia.

Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia among elderly people. The hospital has handled people with dementia and Alzheimer's for just the past year.

Alzheimer's disease is little-known among the Indonesian public. It became a brief focus of world attention when former U.S. President Ronald Reagan disclosed in 1994 that he was diagnosed with the disease, which is not a normal part of aging.

The disease was first discovered in 1906 by a German doctor, Alois Alzheimer. The disease affects parts of the brain that control thought, memory and language. The cause of the disease is unknown, and there is still no cure.

Early symptoms

Experts say the disease develops slowly. At first, the only symptom may be mild forgetfulness. For example people with Alzheimer's (which usually starts after the age of 65) may forget how to do simple tasks like brushing their teeth and combing their hair. They can no longer think clearly and they begin to have problems with speaking, understanding, reading and writing.

Later on the patient may become anxious, aggressive or wander away from home.

According to Simon, the symptoms include memory loss which affect daily activity, disorientation with time and place, poor or reduced judgment, tendency to misplace things, changes in personality and problems with language.

Many believe that the number of people in Indonesia with Alzheimer's and related diseases will increase in line with the country's longer life expectancy.

In 2000, the number of senior citizens (aged 65 years and above) was about 15.2 million, about 7.28 percent of the total population and it is predicted that in 2010 the number will increase to 19.9 million (8.48 percent), Simon said.

And yet, unfortunately, the medical problem still attracts little attention in Indonesia. "For example at the School of Medicine, the University of Indonesia, Alzheimer's disease is only briefly discussed," said Dharma Jaya director Irma M. Tanuwidjaja.

To prevent people from developing Alzheimer's, the clinic enriches itself with different kinds of treatment in the form of manual and computerized cognitive stimulations utilizing various form of tests; Train the Brain simulation, Trail-Making and Digit-Symbol tests.

Doctors claim the efforts have shown results. A 40-year-old company director from Tangerang, about 40 kilometers west of Jakarta, who lost his reading ability after a brain surgeon, is said to be improving.

It's rather amazing that despite the disease, the director can still actively manage the company although he is unable to read or even write.

"He quite regularly 'writes' words without understanding their meaning," said Untari Oetomo, a general practitioner at the clinic.

Now, within two months after starting so-called reading therapy three to four times a week, the director can now recognize words that use letters from the first part of the alphabet.

"Now he can make words consisting of the letters A to G," said Untari.

The clinic is also handling a leader of several organizations who is losing his memories due to aging and other kinds of dementia patients.

Beside continuously improving medical treatment, the clinic also cooperates with lay people through establishing support groups for people with Alzheimer's and related diseases.

Initial cooperation has been with groups that are concerned with elderly people such as church congregations, Simon said.

"So far there have been 30 people from different churches in Jakarta joining the support group. We have regular meetings where lay people are trained on how to handle people with dementia or directly report to the clinic if they find Alzheimer sufferers," he added.