| MYTH | REALITY |
| Memory loss is a natural part of ageing. | As people age, it’s normal to have occasional memory problems, such as forgetting the name of a person you’ve recently met. However, dementia is more than occasional memory loss. It’s a disease that causes brain cells to malfunction and ultimately die. When this happens, an individual may forget the name of a long-time friend or which roads to take to return to a home they’ve lived in for decades. |
| Only older people can get dementia | Dementia can strike people in their 30s, 40s and even 50s. This is called younger-onset dementia (also referred to as early onset). It is estimated that there are more than 5 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States. This includes over 5 million people age 65 and older, and 200,000 people younger than age 65 with younger-onset dementia. |
| Drinking out of aluminium cans or cooking in aluminium pots and pans can lead to dementia. | During the 1960s and 1970s, aluminium emerged as a possible suspect in dementia. This suspicion led to concern about exposure to aluminium through everyday sources such as pots and pans, beverage cans, antacids and antiperspirants. Since then, studies have failed to confirm any role for aluminium in causing dementia. Experts today focus on other areas of research, and few believe that everyday sources of aluminium pose any threat. |
| Silver dental fillings increase the risk of dementia | According to the best available scientific evidence, there is no relationship between silver dental fillings and dementia. The concern that there could be a link arose because “silver” fillings are made of an amalgam (mixture) that typically contains about 50 percent mercury, 35 percent silver and 15 percent tin. Mercury is a heavy metal that, in certain forms, is known to be toxic to the brain and other organs |
| There are treatments available to stop the progression of dementia. | At this time, there is no treatment to cure, delay or stop the progression of dementia. While some treatments can help people to live with their symptoms a little better, there are no treatments that slow or stop dementia. This means that the diseases will continue to get worse over time unless new treatments can be found quickly. |
| Dementia is only a Western issue. | Dementia is a global issue. It’s a common myth that dementia is only an issue in the Western world. The largest increases in dementia expected over the next 20 years are actually in places like China, India and Sub-Saharan Africa. Dementia is a truly global health issue, affecting 46.8 million people worldwide. |
| Source: www.alz.org ∙ www.alzheimersresearchuk.org |
