The risk of Alzheimer's disease is increasing worldwide. According to the data for the year 2020, more than 55 million (5.5 crores) people were victims of Alzheimer's and dementia caused by it. This number is expected to double every two decades. This disease of forgetting things, loss of memory, and difficulty in reasoning ability is very common with aging.
World Alzheimer's Day is celebrated every year on 21 September to raise awareness about Alzheimer's disease and dementia and to deal with its challenges.
The problem of forgetting, not being able to remember things or someone's name on time is normal. But if you often have this problem, due to which your daily activities are getting affected, then it becomes important to pay attention to it. Is it due to any neuropsychiatric problem?
Not being able to remember the names of things or people while writing or speaking is called the problem of 'anomia' in medical terms. People suffering from this disorder often feel that they have the words on the tip of their tongue but are unable to express them. Do you or someone you know have this kind of problem?
Not being able to find the right words at the right time to speak
You must have often seen a famous Indian cricketer forgetting the names of things or players during many interviews. For example, if he has to tell that a player was sent to fine leg for fielding and he took a brilliant catch. He is seen saying this like this - I sent him there and he took a brilliant catch.
There may be people around us too, whom you notice forgetting the names of things but due to lack of information, you never consider it a problem. Health experts say that this needs to be taken care of seriously. In some cases, it can also be a symptom of Alzheimer's disease.
What is the problem of anomia?
Anomia or anomic aphasia is known as a language disorder. In this, things are in your mind but you are unable to find the right words to speak fluently. Studies show that brain damage caused by stroke, traumatic head injury, or tumor can cause this.
Experts say the problem of anomia is mainly considered to be the result of damage to the left side of the brain. For right-handed people, the left side of the brain helps in controlling and selecting language. However, there doesn't need to be a brain injury every time for anomia.
Its relation with Alzheimer's disease
Senior psychiatrist Dr Satyakant Trivedi says it is important to pay attention to such problems because symptoms of anomia can also occur in the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Apart from this, the risk of stroke increases in people suffering from stress for a long time, which can cause anomic aphasia.
Getting timely diagnosis and treatment of these problems can help reduce the risk of many types of neuropsychiatric disorders.
What do experts say?
Dr Satyakant says, if you feel that you or someone you know has symptoms of anomia, then advise them to get a proper diagnosis and treatment. Relief can be found in such problems with the help of speech and visual action therapy etc. During diagnosis, it can also be known whether there is any damage to the brain.
Increasing cases of neuropsychiatric disorders can cause serious and long-term problems, so it is important to detect and treat them in time.
(PC: ISTOCK)
