15.000 personas con Alzheimer en la provincia de Málaga. Hoy es el Día Mundial del Alzheimer

Este miércoles, 21 de septiembre, se celebra el Día Mundial del Alzheimer, conmemoración a la que se suman los hospitales Quirónsalud Málaga y Marbella con la campaña “El valor del cuidador” (#conCdeCuidador), organizada por la Confederación Española de Asociaciones de Familiares de personas con Alzheimer y otras Demencias (CEAFA). La efeméride tiene el objetivo de sensibilizar a la sociedad acerca de la llamada epidemia del siglo XXI y promover la prevención de este tipo de demencia que, en la actualidad, padecen 600.000 personas, aunque la cifra asciende a 3,5 millones de afectados por la misma en España, incluyendo a familiares y cuidadores. Esta patología afecta en la provincia de Málaga a unas 15.000 personas (la mitad de las 30.000 que presentan una demencia).

Bajo el lema “El valor del cuidador”, se pone en marcha la campaña de concienciación de este año, centrada en redes sociales con el hashtag #conCdeCuidador, que incide en la importancia del cuidador familiar, y es que la familia es en el 94% de los casos la responsable del cuidado de la persona con Alzheimer y la que sufre el efecto desintegrador de esta.

Demencia prevalente
El doctor Manio von Maravic, jefe del servicio de Neurología de Hospital Quirónsalud Marbella, recuerda que el alzhéimer “es el tipo de demencia más prevalente, una enfermedad neurológica degenerativa que debuta como un progresivo deterioro cognitivo y funcional de inicio insidioso, al que en el transcurso del tiempo se asocian cambios en el estado de ánimo con alteraciones psicológicas y de conducta”.

Cuando aparecen los primeros indicios de pérdida de memoria, suelen atribuirse a la edad sin prestarles mayor atención. Sin embargo, cuando aparece unida a dificultades para acometer las tareas habituales, a problemas con el lenguaje, a la desorientación o a cambios de humor, entre otros, es un claro síntoma de la aparición del alzhéimer. En este sentido, la doctora Elena Vila, jefa del servicio de Neurología de Quirónsalud Málaga, advierte de “la importancia, ante síntomas de alarma, de acudir al especialista para obtener un diagnóstico precoz que, junto a un tratamiento especializado y multidisciplinar, ayude a retardar los efectos de la enfermedad”.

En este sentido, los servicios de Neurología de Quirónsalud Málaga y Quirónsalud Marbella proporcionan una atención continuada, especializada y personalizada con un abordaje integral y multidisciplinar, estableciendo un dictamen precoz basado en los últimos criterios diagnósticos y valorando su gravedad y progresión, junto con el seguimiento y apoyo clínico-neuropsicológico para pacientes y familiares y cuidadores.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy May Help Reduce Memory Problems in Cancer Survivors Who Have Received Chemotherapy

A new analysis indicates that a type of psychotherapy delivered by videoconference may help prevent some of the long-term memory issues caused by chemotherapy. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings point to a noninvasive way to help cancer survivors manage some of the negative effects of their treatment.

It’s estimated that approximately half of cancer patients who receive chemotherapy develop long-lasting changes in memory function such as trouble remembering conversational content or steps in a task. While the memory problems tend to be mild, they diminish quality of life in areas of job performance and family and social life well beyond cancer treatment. The causes of this problem and reasons why it does not affect every survivor remain unknown, and there is currently limited research on treatments for it.

A team led by Robert Ferguson, PhD, who is currently at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute but was at the Eastern Maine Medical Center and Lafayette Family Cancer Center in Bangor, Maine, while conducting this research, developed a cognitive-behavioral therapy called “Memory and Attention Adaptation Training” (MAAT), which helps cancer survivors to increase awareness of situations where memory problems can arise and to develop skills to either prevent memory failure or to compensate for memory dysfunction.

In a small randomized study, 47 Caucasian breast cancer survivors who were an average of four years post-chemotherapy were assigned to eight visits of MAAT (30 to 45 minutes each visit) or supportive talk therapy for an identical time span. The intent of the supportive therapy was to control for the simple effects of interacting with a supportive clinician, or “behavioral placebo.” Both treatments were delivered over a videoconference network between health centers to minimize survivor travel. All participants completed questionnaires assessing perceived memory difficulty and anxiety about memory problems, and they were also tested over the phone with neuropsychological tests of verbal memory and processing speed, or the ability to automatically and fluently perform relatively easy cognitive tasks. Participants were evaluated again after the eight MAAT and supportive therapy videoconference visits, as well as two months after the conclusion of therapy.

Compared with participants who received supportive therapy, MAAT participants reported significantly fewer memory problems as well as improved processing speed posttreament. MAAT participants also reported much less anxiety about cognitive problems compared with supportive therapy participants 2 months after MAAT concluded, but this was not a statistically significant finding.

“This is what we believe is the first randomized study with an active control condition that demonstrates improvement in cognitive symptoms in breast cancer survivors with long-term memory complaints,” said Dr. Ferguson. “MAAT participants reported reduced anxiety and high satisfaction with this cognitive-behavioral, non-drug approach. Because treatment was delivered over videoconference device, this study demonstrates MAAT can be delivered electronically and survivors can reduce or eliminate travel to a cancer center. This can improve access to survivorship care.” He noted that more research is needed using a larger number of individuals with varied ethnic and cultural backgrounds and multiple clinicians delivering treatment.