ONE in 20 people over the age of 70 are affected by Alzheimer's disease.
It is also estimated that approximately three quarters of residents in long term care have some form of dementia.
Often called the "silent epidemic", the illness impacts not just on sufferers but on their families too.
Dementia can transform a lively person into a shadow of their former selves in just a few years.
Professor Cary Cooper, BUPA professor of organisational psychology at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, said that the stress of caring for a loved one with dementia can lead to family members and carers becoming socially withdrawn themselves because of spending so much time with the sufferer.
The symptoms of Alzheimer's include increasing forgetfulness, halting speech, deterioration of everyday skills, loss of social graces, weight loss, the inability to walk or stand and incontinence.
If a member of your family is developing dementia, it is recommended you avoid changes in routine or environment, put calendars and clocks in many rooms to help the person feel orientated, cut down the person's intake of caffeine and help them to get regular exercise, reassure the person, avoid contradicting them, prevent them from wandering unsupervised, keep medication out of reach and have the person wear an idenfication bracelet.
Carers are recommended to take care of themselves too.
Helplines: Alzheimer's Society: 0845 300 0336. A BUPA guide on finding care is available free by calling 0800 00 10 10.
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