DEMENTIA
Food for Thought
Karen Neal, Care Home Manager at Exemplar Health Care’s Fairburn Mews home in Castleford, looks into the role of diet in
managing the deterioration of dementia, with a focus on Korsakoff’s syndrome in particular.
It’s natural to worry about family members who are in care facilities, and mainstream media stories can oſten heighten this concern. Recently, we have seen an increase in media reporting on the effect of dietary changes in managing the deterioration of dementia, which is likely to lead family members to consider the impact of their loved one’s diet whilst in care.
Although it has been scientifically proven that lifestyle choices such as alcohol misuse can cause Korsakoff’s syndrome, a chronic memory disorder within the dementia family, there is not yet widespread scientific evidence to highlight that certain foods or food groups can decelerate or indeed halt the development of dementia.
WHAT IS KORSAKOFF’S SYNDROME?
Korsakoff’s syndrome is caused by the severe deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B-1). It is most commonly caused by alcohol misuse, but other conditions can also cause the syndrome such as anorexia, AIDs and cancer. Symptoms include being unable to remember recent events, long-term memory gaps and problems learning new information. Memory difficulties may be obviously severe, while other thinking and social skills appear unaffected.
It is not known how many people are anticipated to suffer from Korsakoff’s syndrome and it is widely considered that it is less common than Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. However, like more common types of dementia, it
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