Alzheimer’s Awareness month - Interview with Dr. Neil Thomas
01/14/2019
January is Alzheimer’s Awareness month, an opportunity to learn more about dementia which is having a growing impact as our population ages. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia.
In 2016, there were 564,000 Canadians living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Approximately 25,000 new cases of dementia are diagnosed each year and by 2031, this number will almost double putting enormous strain on the healthcare system. This means more research is needed to understand the causes, reduce stigma and identify the most effective ways to prevent, diagnose and treat this disease.
Dr. Neil Thomas is a cognitive neurologist at the Bruyère Memory Program and an investigator at the Bruyère Research Institute. He specializes in home based assessment of individuals with cognitive impairment. Listen to Rob Snow’s interview with Dr. Thomas as he talks about how technology can be used to detect changes in memory and functioning for individuals with cognitive impairment and dementia and research being conducted at Bruyère to look at drugs which can slow and even stop the progression of the disease.