Dementia and Kalmadi

None of the symptoms reported in Kalmadi’s MRI scan is exclusive to dementia

The condition is essentially an umbrella term used to describe a clutch of symptoms involving the loss of brain functions or cognition. It affects memory, language, thinking, judgement and behaviour to the extent of effecting changes in personality. The reason we are discussing the condition is the news that Suresh Kalmadi, Organising Committee chief of the Commonwealth Games 2010, might be suffering from dementia. The suspended Congress MP has been in jail since 25 April.

Dementia is largely a condition that afflicts the elderly. A WHO paper on dementia in 2000 found that its incidence in the age group of 60-69 years is less than 1 per cent. But this rises to 39 per cent in the age range of 90 to 95 years. Kalmadi is 66 years old.

The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s. Another major contributor is Lewy Body Disease, where microscopic protein deposits form in the brain, impairing its regular functioning. Cerebral strokes also cause a form of the condition called vascular dementia.

Dementia is difficult to detect clinically, and an MRI scan is rarely sufficient to diagnose it. Kalmadi is being treated for diabetes and heart condition in the jail hospital. He underwent an MRI scan at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital on 19 July that shows, ‘diffused cerebral atrophy with old isochemic changes in brain parenchyma with calcified granuloma in caudothalamic groove on left side [of his brain]’. None of the symptoms is reportedly exclusive to dementia. He has been referred to AIIMS, where he will probably be put through memory function, language function, behaviour and personality tests.

His lawyer Hitesh Jain has said that Kalmadi has suffered dementia for the past four or five years, neatly covering the period of preparation for the Commonwealth Games.

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