Some Areas of Focus

Medicine is a collaborative effort. Many times patients with Alzheimer's and other dementias are cared for by their family physicians.

Often family physicians consult me on phone or video calls about such patients. The patient's caregiver and family physician together with a geriatric psychiatrist make an effective team in dementia care.

Such collaboration allows extra caution in administering medicines for dementia patients.

A single tree may get uprooted by a storm but trees in a jungle often withstand storms when they stand together.

Heart disease and Depression are often associated. They have a bidirectional relationship--one is the risk factor for the other and vice versa. Therefore both need to be treated. Fortunately, several antidepressants can be safely used in cardiac patients.

(Picture: Once when visiting a friend, I asked him whether he would take me to a beach or a mountain. He replied, 'Both. They are not either-or choices!', and took me to this place. Things that affect our heart and brain too are not either-or choices. What is good for the heart is good for the brain and vice versa.)

Most middle-aged people don't realize that they have a long life ahead of them. The majority of them have 3/4 decades ahead of them. They have to prepare for the long inning. The other aspect of increasing longevity is that a middle-aged person today will either get dementia or will care for a person with dementia. This is a sobering thought. That is why the most important preparation is to keep the brain healthy. For this, they must understand the risk factors for dementia. Though this can be done easily, as I often do, in group programs, individual consultation is also a good way to understand one's risk factors and make necessary lifestyle modifications.