6 in 10 living with dementia 'undiagnosed'

Up to 60 per cent of people in Britain with dementia today are "struggling in the dark" because they have not been diagnosed, a charity warned. According to the Telegraph newspaper, Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, was speaking as a global report into the problem called for governments to each develop a "national dementia strategy" to cope with growing numbers with the degenerative brain condition. The World Alzheimer Report 2011 estimates that 27 of the 36 million sufferers worldwide - 75 per cent - are living with dementia without having been diagnosed. Britain - with some 750,000 sufferers - is one of the worst of the rich countries when it comes to diagnosis, it found. In some countries, doctors manage to identify four out of five with the condition. Mr Hughes said: "In the UK right now 60 per cent of people with dementia are struggling in the dark with no formal diagnosis. These people must be helped. Empowered with an early diagnosis, they can benefit from potential treatments and support which could vastly improve their quality of life." The report found governments could save billions if they focused on earlier diagnosis, as they could save more than £6,000 per person by, for example, reducing the need for care home or hospital places. Studies indicate that giving drugs such as Aricept, Exelon and Reminyl in the early stages of Alzheimer's - the most common form of dementia - enable patients to remain independent longer. However, a mistaken belief that dementia was a normal part of ageing led to many people remaining undiagnosed until the late stages, it noted. The study was led by Martin Prince of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London.