Caja Hopes to Combat Mental Disorders
- Details
- Category: Getting Along
- Published on Tuesday, June 05 2012 04:40
- Written by Rod Hughes
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Sessions in "mental gymnastics" are being offered by the Social Security (Caja) health system in an effort to keep aging minds active and to combat mental deterioration diseases such as Alzheimer's.
The program is being offered despite the financial crisis that threatens the Caja in answer to a demographic reality -- Costa Rica's population is growing older due to a low birth rate.
The new program will use crossword puzzles and memory games in an attempt to exercise slack minds in citizens over 65 years of age. It will offer 10 three-hour sessions conducted by psychologists and gerontology experts.
The so-called Memory Clinic sponsored by the Caja has treated 1,900 senior citizens with problems of memory in the last four years. Of them 15% were suffering from slight cognitive deterioration, half had Alzheimer's and 35% suffered from vascular dementia, the latter a condition in which insufficient blood reaches the brain.
The World Health Organization predicts that the rate of aged dementia will have doubled by the year 2050, affecting some 115.4 million persons.
If our readers know of someone who could benefit from the course, they can call 2539-0048 for more information.
