J Neurosci Cogn Stud | Volume 2, Issue 1 | Research Article | Open Access
Kochen Silvia*, Sevillano Zulma, Lisso Julieta, Nancy Medel and Solis Patricia
Neurosciences and Complex Systems Unit (EnyS), National University Jauretche, Argentina
*Correspondance to: Kochen Silvia
Fulltext PDFThe goals of our project is to act on effective dementia interventions with a focus on vulnerable populations. In 2016 the Hospital El Cruce launched a specialist medical service for elderly patients free of charge in F. Varela, one of the poorest areas of the Province of Buenos Aires with a population of over two million people. Our Institute ENyS, established a Memory Clinic (MC) as part of this service. The patients referred by GPs to the MC, in two years, we found that none of the patients referred reporting symptoms of cognitive decline or diagnosis of dementia had been cognitively evaluated. Mostly female patients were enrolled in our study. Patients with few educational qualifications were predominant. For all patients referred to MC, slightly less than half of women and more than half of men had a pathological cognitive evaluation. We observed a correlation between low level of formal education and greater cognitive deterioration. One interesting finding is that most of patients with cognitive impairment had functional autonomy. Of all the patients, only 53 (14.4%) met the criteria for dementia. More than half of the patients with probable diagnosis of dementia did was not receiving any type of pharmacological treatment, while a quarter of the population without dementia was receiving the treatment often used for such condition. A long-term deliverable will be to improve public policy in F. Varela around dementia prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care and support.
Silvia K, Zulma S, Julieta L, Medel N, Patricia S. Screening of Cognitive Impairment: Undiagnosed or Over Diagnosis in a Vulnerable Population. J Neurosci Cogn Stud. 2018; 2(1): 1009.