What is dementia?

Dementia is a category of diseases that affect the brain and person’s cognitive abilities such as thinking and remembering, which can create numerous difficulties in daily activities. It is caused by cell death in the brain. This is a long term condition, which often progressively gets worse as the time passes. About 50-70% of all cases are sufferers of Dementia’s disease, but there are other types of dementia including vascular dementia, lewy body dementia, as well as those that can be caused by other conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, brain infection etc. In cases where dementia occurred due to hypothyroidism, Lyme disease, vitamin B12 deficiency and neurosyphilis, it can be reversible.

This condition has a tendency to be misunderstood by many people who believe it is a natural part of ageing, whilst others think that a simple forgetfulness means dementia. None of these beliefs are accurate. Although dementia mainly targets older population, those above ages of 65 and up, it is not a normal process that happens to everyone who grows old. Around 10% of people will develop dementia at some point and currently it affects more than 36 million individuals worldwide.

 

What are the symptoms of dementia?

Signs and symptoms  of dementia vary from person to person and there are several stages a patient can be diagnosed with, depending on how mild or severe it is.

 

Cognitive changes may include:

  • Memory loss
  • Confusion,
  • Difficulties with language and communication, finding the right words,
  • Difficulties with reasoning, solving problems, dealing with complicated tasks, organising and planning and other similar issues.

In the psychological aspect, it can cause depression, change in personality, anxiety, paranoia, hallucinations etc.

 

What is the traditional treatment of dementia?

There is no cure for dementia at the moment and aside from providing help to the patient in a form of care and some medications that can slightly improve problems, for most people symptoms deteriorate. However, modern medicine improves daily and new discoveries such as stem cell treatment brought new hope and light to those suffering from this condition.

 

Dementia as a Consequence of Alzheimer’s Disease

Many cases of dementia can develop both independently and as a complication of Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer syndrome is also caused by the progressive death of brain cells. It often results from a certain combination of genetic, behavioural and environmental factors [2].

Pic. 2. Comparison of a normal aged brain (left) and the brain of a person with Dementia’s (right).

Affected by this disease, the brain loses its cells and connections between them. Along with cells dying, the brain undergoes certain shrinkage. At first, the only symptoms of this process are mild confusion or increasing forgetfulness. However, in time, AD robs a patient of most of the memories. If a person does not undergo a serious Alzheimer therapy, he or she starts suffering from disorientation, speaking and writing problems, social withdrawal, anxiety and depression. Patients suffering from this disease lose their ability to think and reason, make judgements and decisions, plan and perform even simple tasks.

 

How Regenerative Stem Cells Treatment for Dementia works?

Cell-based therapy aims to restore degenerated neuronal networks, and consequently cognitive function, through the introduction of stem cells. Various scientific research asserts that stem cells make a great contribution to rebuilding damaged nerve fibres. These stem cells may be used as a cellular delivery system, utilising a paracrine “bystander” mechanism through either native or induced production of neuroprotective growth factors. Alternatively, therapeutic restoration may occur through differentiation and participation of the stem cells in repopulating damaged neuronal circuits. This is a finely balanced, complex, and multi step process, with great potential benefit for those suffering from dementia .

A clinical trial showed such therapeutic effects of stem cell transplantation in dementia treatment as:

• increasing acetylcholine levels to improve cognition and memory;
• modulation of neuroplasticity and neurogenesis due to secreting neurotrophic factors by stem cells;
• increasing neuronal survival and neuronal differentiation;
• improving neuropathological and behavioural recovery;
• activation of microglia (glial cells that are located throughout the brain and spinal cord, and act as the first and main form of active immune defence in the central nervous system)

 

What are the top Benefits of Non-surgical Regenerative Treatments?

With so many options out there, you may be wondering what benefits choosing Non-surgical Regenerative Treatments provides.  Over all Regenerative treatments are minimally invasive, non-surgical same day procedures with no risk of rejection, minimal recovery time and minimal worry. You are fully awake and ready to go home within a few hours after injections in the affected area.

 

Here are the top benefits to be aware of:

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Avoid surgery and its risks and many complications

Regenerative Therapy is a minimally invasive, non-surgical procedure, which gives patients an alternative to painful surgery and lengthy recovery. The procedure is performed in an outpatient setting and only takes a few hours. No general anaesthesia is required and most patients don’t need post-operative pain medication. Also, patients typically return to work within a week or two (unless told otherwise by the doctor) and they resume physical activity much faster than after invasive hip surgery.

 

Minimal post-procedural recovery time

One of the most time consuming factors of any injury is not always the treatment itself, but actually the recovery time. With Regenerative therapies, there is far less risk involved than surgery and recovery time is much shorter compared to surgery.

 

No use of general anaesthesia

Do you not like the way general anaesthesia makes your feel? Or do you simply get anxious at the thought of being put under? Regenerative therapy may be just what you need as it does not require the use of general anaesthesia. It provides a safe increasingly effective non-surgical alternative to treating medical conditions using the body’s own natural ability to repair itself without the use of medication.

 

Same day procedure

The best part, after comprehensive examination and review of your case, blood tests & radio-imaging scans are done to establish a baseline for your pre-existing condition, is that our Regenerative Therapies are a non-invasive treatment and an outpatient same day procedure, where the Consultant will decide which line of Regenerative Therapy is most suited to your case. In certain cases it may be a combination of more than one treatment protocol. For some patients however, the complete protocol is a series of injections in several treatment sessions.

 

Safe procedures with No risk of rejection and No communicable disease transmission

Your immune system has no reason to attack your cells and there is no risk of contracting a transmittable infectious disease from a donor patient also. In fact, studies thus far have indicated no safety issues with fat-derived autologous (from self) cells. Because they are your own cells, the risk of rejection is eliminated.

The increased risk of heart attack, as found to be associated with hip replacement surgery, is not present with Regenerative therapies, either. Like any procedure, there is a minute risk of infection at the sample collection and at the hip injection site. To minimize that risk the procedure is carried out under strict sterile conditions.

Am I a candidate for the Medica Institute Regenerative therapies?

In general, Regenerative Medica Institute Regenerative Therapies can be utilised by anyone, regardless of the age, race, or gender. However, in order to determine if you are a good candidate and will benefit the most from Regenerative treatment, you will need to schedule an appointment with our Clinic to have an assessment done by our Consultant, who will review your medical records and determine if you are a qualified candidate for our therapy. The choice of treatment is then at the discretion of the Consultant and is based on your unique case.

 

Regenerative Therapy may help patients who don’t respond to typical drug treatment, want to reduce their reliance on medication, or are looking for safe treatment alternatives. Regenerative treatments are not suitable for all conditions and all patients. The consultant will be able to advise if you are a suitable candidate.

Your first step to exploring your treatment options is scheduling a consultation with our Consultant. To do so call us on 020 8168 2000 or alternatively book a consultation online or request a call back today!