New Zealand needs to do more to prepare for what some experts predict will be a tsunami of dementia by the middle of this century. 

Professor Lynette Tippett told Clare de Lore of Newstalk ZB’s Brainstorming podcast that there are an estimated 84,000 New Zealanders living with dementia and that number will jump to 170,000 by 2050. 

Professor Tippett leads dementia research at the Centre for Brain Research at Auckland University and says that while research continues, society needs to do its part to lessen the burden on the health care system, and to enable people with dementia and their families to live well. 

She cites the success of the TV reality programme The Restaurant that Makes Mistakes. It featured people with dementia working in a restaurant, under supervision, preparing food and waiting on tables. 

“They were preparing food, serving food in a restaurant with real customers under the supervision of (chef) Ben Bayley and his assistant, Professor Tippett said. 

“But they just rose up, it was almost like a re-awakening and I believe it was because they were working as a group, with social interaction and they were doing something with support that was purposeful - it was incredible. 

“To see the change in these people was remarkable but for me there was anxiety about what would happen at the end because the programme was a great opportunity but we don’t want that to end with the TV programme.” 

“We want society to be .. willing to accept that maybe someone could start a cafe where the staff are people with dementia and the public would support that in an ongoing way. In Japan they have loads of cafes with people with dementia working but that involves society as a whole. They will likely have a better course of their dementia than someone who shuts down immediately after their diagnosis.” 

There are a range of things that increase the risk of developing dementia. Collectively there are 14 factors that account for 45% of the risk. They include cardio-vascular, smoking, high blood pressure, elevated or bad cholesterol, physical inactivity as well as sensory changes - hearing loss in mid-life is a risk factor. Professor Tippett says that recently it has been found that certain types of visual loss are a risk factor and she says, perhaps more surprising, is that social isolation is a risk factor as well as depression. 

“The good thing is we can do something about all of them, we can have aggressive management of cardiovascular risk. People don’t like wearing hearing aids ..evidence suggests that if you wear hearing aids, the elevated risk goes away and it probably is, in part, because they are able to interact socially, not avoiding social situations where they can’t hear,” Professor Tippett said. 

Research is going on all over the world into dementia and Professor Tipper says recent developments have produced a blood test that may be reliable in detecting the damaging amyloid protein in the blood that is coming from the brain. 

“This is probably going to be the future of being able to determine if those proteins are building up. Early diagnosis can help people plan for the future, putting in place what they need to have in order to have a meaningful life,” she said. 

Graeme Newton has had memory problems since 2016 and six years ago he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, the most prevalent of the range of conditions that come under the umbrella description of dementia. 

“In the early stages, I probably hesitated to talk much about it, it was an embarrassment forgetting people’s names, I would forget an appointment or whatever. As a businessman I had lots of meetings and appointments, and I’d sometimes forget if I hadn’t written it down. (Now) everything is written down, shopping lists, when to do the laundry and we have somewhere to check have I done this or that. I still have fun. Life is to be enjoyed, and I want to make the most of it and I encourage everybody else.’ 

Graeme Newton took part in the TV programme The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes and says it was fantastic. 

“I had never cooked and to be in a programme where I was cooking, with a chef’s hat, it was fantastic, it helped me and it helped other people. It is not the end of the world to have dementia, you can still do things.” 

Professor Tippett says the course for some people with Alzheimer's is a lot more difficult than Graeme’s, with mood changes and behavioural difficulties. 

“That is very hard on families. People can get incredibly emotionally burnt out. There are people whose personalities might change a lot because of the disease's progress and then you are living with not only someone with memory problems or unable to do what they used to do but they seem like they are a different person. It is a consequence of the disease, the person will still be there somewhere but if you are living with it every day, it is hard to connect with.” 

Brainstorming with Clare de Lore has new episodes every second Wednesday on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts – powered by Newstalk ZB.