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Context

• Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has released the Multilingual Dementia Research and Assessment (MUDRA) Toolbox in five Indian languages - Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

About

• MUDRA Toolbox is a comprehensive tool specifically to diagnose dementia in the Indian population.
• The toolbox includes various cognitive tests to assess different domains of cognition such as attention and executive function, memory, language, and visuospatial functions.
• It is a unique tool consisting of various tests and questionnaires and is sensitive to the factors that affect performance on cognitive tests including education, language and culture.
• MUDRA Toolbox is an initiative undertaken by ICMR Neuro-Cognitive Tool Box (ICMR -NCTB) consortium to transform India's dementia and mild cognitive impairment research and clinical practices.
• It is a collective effort by seven leading centers in India NIMHANS (Bengaluru), AIIMS (New Delhi), SCTIMST (Thiruvananthapuram), NIMS (Hyderabad), Apollo Hospital (Kolkata), Manipal Hospital (Bengaluru) and Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College.

Dementia

• Dementia is a general term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia.
• Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia. Though dementia mostly affects older adults, it is not a part of normal aging.
• People with dementia have problems with:
• Memory
• Attention
• Communication
• Reasoning, judgment, and problem solving
• Visual perception beyond typical age-related changes in vision
• What increases the risk for dementia – Age, Family history, Poor heart health, Traumatic brain injury
• Treatment of dementia depends on the underlying cause.
• Neurodegenerative dementias, like Alzheimer’s disease, have no cure, though there are medications that can help protect the brain or manage symptoms such as anxiety or behavior changes.
• Leading a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise, healthy eating, and maintaining social contacts, decreases chances of developing chronic diseases and may reduce number of people with dementia.

https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=ICMR-releases-MUDRA-Toolbox-in-five-Indian-languages-to-diagnose-dementia&id=427557

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