More than 430,000 Australians, or about one in every 67 people, have dementia. They must cope with memory loss, confusion, behavioural and mood changes, communication problems, and other distressing symptoms.
Another 1.7 million Australians are involved in caring for someone with dementia — caused by a number of conditions, the most common of which is Alzheimer’s disease.
For Dr Diana Karamacoska, a cognitive neuroscientist at Western’s National Institute of Complementary Medicine, her first real brush with dementia came during her PhD, when two of her grandparents were diagnosed.