Nonagenarian Duterte speaks about Alzheimer’s disease in Davao City
DAVAO CITY, Sept. 20 (PNA) – The 90-year-old Soledad Duterte will be one of the speakers in the 8th Annual convention of the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorder here from Oct. 7 to 8 at the Marco Polo Hotel Davao.
Nanay Soleng, as fondly called by Dabawenyos, is the grandmother of Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, the mother of Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
The old Duterte will talk about “How Ready Are We with Nursing Homes in the Philippines”. Vice Mayor Duterte is the Keynote Speaker.
Dr. Eva Aranas-Angel, member of the board of Dementia Society of the Philippines (DSP), said the convention would center on the Holistic Dementia Care where topics would include, among others, The Molecular Basis of Learning and Memory, Medical and Environmental Conditions That Affect Memory, Cognitive Symptoms of Dementia, Activities of Daily Living in Dementia, Neurobehavioral Indicators of Dementia, Diagnosis of Dementia Syndrome, Pharmacologic Strategies in the Management of Dementia, Music Therapy, Aromatherapy, Reality Orientation, Interdisciplinary Approach to Dementia Care, The Community Awareness Program of the DSP, Dementia Care Pinoy Style, Dementia Policies in the Philippines.
The convention is also organized by the Allied Specialist Group in cooperation with the Philippine Neurological Association.
On the other hand, Angel said cases of alzheimer's disease in the Philippines has become alarming to family members.
However, she said they did not have yet data as to number of cases, but she got at least two new cases a week in her clinic.
Their data show that about 70 percent of Filipinos 60 years old and above manage to live good quality of life while the remaining 30 percent of them are vulnerable to dementia.
"It is sad to note that many don't get to see a doctor. And this can be prevented," she said.
Angel is the only doctor in Davao City that practices Geriatric Medicine and gets patients from as far as Lanao and the different parts of Mindanao.
Angel also said the higher the age the more dementia cases would be, adding that among the 70 years old, about 30 percent of them suffered dementia; while for the 80 years old, around 40 percent and in the 90 years old bracket, about 50 percent of them have dementia.
Aside from the attitude of not seeing a doctor, the other problem would be economic because of the difficulty of convincing the family to see a doctor as most of them declined due to the high cost of treatment.
Seeking treatment could reduce the problem but sustaining the treatment in order to bring back quality of life was another thing, she said.
"There is no price tag for quality of life but we could put price tag to bringing back memory of the patient," she said.
She advises people, who have the option to retire, not to proceed unless they have other similar activities outside of their usual routine while still working.
She said when out of work because of retirement, reading was not enough because what the person read had to be communicated to others for actual interaction.
She said one has to have continued intellectual stimulation and it was not enough by just watching TV or by reading.
The mind, she said, had to be active as what the Europeans popularized through the University of Life Long Learning.
There is one in the Philippines handled by St. Escolastica through the University of Life where their teachers are retired professors, career executive officers (CEOs) and other executives.
She said this kind of activity could help a lot because having an alzheimer patient in the family was painful.
"Many of the family members of my patients would say they pity their parents seeing them losing their memory," she said. (PNA)
RMA/Prix Digna D. Banzon/lvp
