NHS Choices and talkhealth have joined forces to present an ‘Online Clinic on Dementia’ from 18 – 24 July 2012. The clinic, supported by Dementia UK and The Alzheimer’s Society, will give anyone worried about dementia the chance to get their personal medical questions answered by a team of expert clinicians.

The clinic will be hosted on all talkhealth sites, with the experts on hand throughout the week to answer people’s questions. The experts include Ian Weatherhead, a lead dementia nurse, Dr Dan Nightingale, a consultant in dementia, learning disabilities and psychotherapy and Lindsey Skelt, an occupational therapist.

Dementia is a syndrome (a group of related symptoms) that is associated with an on-going decline of the brain and its abilities. These can include memory, thinking, language, understanding and judgement. There are four types of dementia; Alzheimer’s Disease, Vascular Dementia, Dementia with Lewy bodies and Frontotemporal Dementia. There are around 570,000 people in England alone suffering with dementia and this figure is expected to double over the next 30 years. Although there is no cure for dementia and symptoms will get worse over time there are a number of effective treatments that can help people to cope better with their symptoms and improve their quality of life.

If you are worried about a loved one with dementia, or are concerned that you may have dementia, ask our experts your questions on symptoms, diagnosis and managing the condition at www.talkhealthpartnership.com/forum

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