Profile and Management of Patients at a Memory Clinic (Original Articles) (Report‪)‬

Memory clinics were first introduced in the USA in the mid-1970s and have since become widely established in the developed world. (1) Their initial purpose was mainly research but this changed when treatment became available for Alzheimer's disease (AD). A main aim at present is to provide, and improve, high-quality dementia care. Memory clinics facilitate early diagnosis of dementia, disseminate information, initiate and monitor treatment, educate clients and their families, and provide training and research opportunities for medical and mental health professionals. (1) Few memory clinics have been established in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA); of those few, most are in South Africa. The prevalence of dementia in SSA and South Africa has not been established conclusively. (2) Studies have reported consistently lower rates of dementia than in developed countries, which has been attributed to differential survival rates; non-presentation of cases of mental illness at service facilities owing to stigma and other reasons; access barriers to health care; symptoms and signs of dementia being accepted by sufferers' families as normal in ageing; and preferential use of traditional healing or complementary medicine. (3)