Dementia ravaged David Cassidy – and its going to devastate the world

David Cassidy, a teen idol from the 1970s and one of the stars of the hit television show the “Partridge Family,” died Tuesday, after suffering from a disease expected to afflict over 100 million people in the next three decades: dementia.

The 67-year-old performer, who died from organ failure in a hospital surrounded by family and friends, first revealed he had dementia earlier this year after falling on stage and forgetting the lyrics mid-performance. Some critics incorrectly assumed he was intoxicated. Soon after, he retired. His mother and his grandfather had dementia, and he said during an interview with Dr. Phil earlier this year, “A part of me always knew this was coming.”

Dementia is a neurological illness that affects the mind and memory, and it can affect a person’s ability to perform everyday tasks. There are numerous types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

More than 47 million people worldwide have dementia, with about 10 million new cases every year. The number of people with dementia is expected to rise to 75 million in 2030 and 132 million by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.

It’s also expensive — it costs $215 billion a year to care for dementia patients, according to the National Institute on Aging, more than double what it costs overall to care for patients with heart disease and almost three times as much for patients with cancer.

People normally don’t detect dementia until years after the disease has developed, but researchers are working on diagnosing it earlier, said Luigi Ferrucci, scientific director of the National Institute of Aging. Although it appears more prevalent in older people, there is a rise of early-onset dementia among those younger than 65, according to research by Bournemouth University.

Some theories behind the rise in dementia cases, aside from the more obvious knock-on effects of an ageing population, include air pollution and the growth of insecticides. Additionally, people who have dementia end up living longer now, Ferrucci said, and some form of dementia is more likely to show the longer people live.

Telltale early signs of dementia include forgetfulness, losing track of time and becoming lost in familiar places, according to the World Health Organization. As the disease progresses, the patient will also become forgetful of recent events and people’s names, and eventually need help with personal care. The late stage of dementia means the patient is completely unaware of the time and place, does not recognize relatives and friends and has trouble walking.

There’s good news: More than a third of dementia cases may be preventable, by controlling nine lifestyle factors, which include not smoking, lowering high blood pressure, maintaining a healthy weight and managing midlife hearing loss, according to a report presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference last summer.

Brain exercises haven’t been proven as successful, but learning new skills has, as well as following a Mediterranean diet which could prevent or even slow down dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, said Kim Gerecke, director of the neuroscience program at Rhodes College in Memphis. Practicing two and a half hours of moderate exercise per week also helps, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCE: New York Post, Alessandra Malito